Academy
by md1347
Summary: Noah's in trouble. Will Luke helping him lead to a reunion?
1. Chapter 1

**Academy**

By Mike Douglas

_Special thanks to nezabudka1 for help with editing the story._

Rating: NC-17 (Sexual Situations – gay sex, Adult language)

_Disclaimer: Luke, Noah, and all related characters, plots, and locations are property of As the World Turns, Telenext Media, and CBS Television. No profit is made from this fan creation. No copyright infringement is intended!_

Summary: Noah's in trouble. Will Luke helping him lead to a reunion?

-P-

Thanks to Tom, Nicole, Louise, Paul, Sally, and Chris for previewing this story.

-P-

-P-

"There's Noah Mayer. We were not sure he would make it after what had happened to him a few days ago but we are glad he is well enough to be here. It looks like he has brought along his own security detail. He is looking quite rough but I suppose after what he went through, he is allowed," a female reporter announced as the camera followed Noah down the red carpet. "His date is beautiful in that wine colored dress."

-P-

Luke turned on the TV to watch the Golden Globes. This year, Luke was watching for Noah, who was nominated for best director. "It's on, get in here!" Luke yelled out to everyone in the house.

Holden, Lily, and Emma rushed into the living room where Luke was watching TV.

"Look there's Noah with Maddie," Luke pointed at the TV. "But the presenter said that something had happened to him and he looks like hell."

A close up of Noah showed cuts on his face, swollen lip, shiner on his left eye, and he was walking stiffly. The camera panned back and they could see all the reporters calling to Noah for an interview but Noah gingerly waved to the fans and walked slowly down the center carpet. He entered the building without speaking to anyone. It was clear from the slight contortions of his face, that he was having a hard time walking. Close behind him and Maddie were two men . . . security guards.

Luke could not help but wonder. "What happened to Noah?" He took out his cell phone and called Maddie. He had to know what had transpired.

-P-

The network reporter standing on the red carpet came on the screen again. "Frankly, I'm surprised he is here. He was discharged from the hospital earlier today. Noah's publicist, Jim Smith released a statement stating that Noah, who is nominated for a best director tonight, has suffered cracked ribs but no other serious injuries. To this reporter, it looked worse than they indicated."

-P-

In Los Angeles, Noah and Maddie were standing near the entrance to the theatre.

Maddie burst into a fit of giggles as her cell phone began to vibrate in her cleavage. The clutch purse she was carrying was too small to hold it and her makeup all together. The sensation was quite pleasing but she pulled the phone out anyway. "It's Luke."

"Ignore it!" Noah's voice was harsh.

"Are you sure? He probably saw you on TV."

"Who cares!"

"Noah, you . . . ,"

Just then, someone bumped into Noah's back, causing him to yell out in pain. "Watch where you're going asshole, I have cracked ribs," Noah leaned forward in pain.

"I'm sorry," replied the person behind him.

The bodyguards did not move. Maddie stood there in shock, unable to say or do anything.

Noah turned around slowly. Shock overtook his face as he realized who it was. "I'm sorry, Mr. Spielberg. I didn't know it was you."

"I'm the one who should be sorry," Steven replied with concern. "Are you okay? . . . I really enjoyed your film, Noah."

Noah was stunned that Steven Spielberg knew his name. "Tha . . . tha . . . thank you, sir."

Steven laughed at being called sir. "I'd love to talk to you more but you look like you need to sit down."

"I'd like that and yes, I really do need to sit down," Noah face was losing color.

Steven wandered off after he shook Maddie's and Noah's hands.

Noah was furious that his guards let someone get that close to him. "Why the hell did you two let him get so close for?"

"It was Spielberg, not your father," one of the bodyguards replied.

"You idiots. You know what my father is capable of. Don't think for a minute that he cannot get to me here," Noah was pissed that nobody seemed to comprehend how dangerous the colonel was.

"Noah!" Maddie gave him a disapproving look before she went off to find an usher who could seat them. When she returned, an usher escorted them down to a table on the side. The security guards took the two seats behind them.

"Do you think he will come?" Maddie asked nervously.

"I do not know," Noah's sadness tuned into fear. "We shouldn't have come. If anything happens to you . . . ,"

"There is no way I would let you miss this, Noah," she chastised. "It's funny, I always thought I'd never get a chance to be here after you started dating Lu . . ." she realized what she was saying and stopped before getting the whole name out.

"Um, let's not talk about him tonight," the last thing Noah needed to talk about at the awards ceremony was his ex-boyfriend.

"Okay . . . Look at that dress on Uma. What the hell is that supposed to be?" Maddie laughed.

Noah looked over and tried not to laugh because of his ribs. "That's horrible."

Maddie laughed again as she pointed over to Jennifer Aniston. "What color is that?"

"Looks like something Ethan excreted into his diaper," Noah gasped at the repulsive color.

Maddie could not help but laugh aloud.

Noah laughed as he pointed toward Bjork. "Is that supposed to be a panda dress?"

Maddie giggled. "After that swan thing, one would think she would have learned. Oh, there's Tom. Let's go meet him."

"Forget it. I'm already in enough pain," Noah scoffed and noticed Maddie's questioning look. "I'm not in the mood to be indoctrinated."

Maddie rolled her eyes. "That's true."

They spent the next half-hour talking and laughing at people.

-P-

"What do you think happened to Noah?" Luke wondered aloud. "It looked like he had two security guards following him."

"I'm not sure, but I think we should call Jack. He is on duty tonight and he might be able to find out," Holden picked up his phone and dialed Jack's number. "When was the last time you talked to Noah?"

Luke had to rack his brain. "It's been a while. We're not as close as we once were."

"I talked to him three weeks ago," Emma spoke up. "He seemed fine. I haven't spoken to him since."

Luke looked at his grandmother. "How often do you talk to Noah?"

"At least once a week, if he's not busy," Emma ignored Luke's questioning glare and concentrated on what Holden was saying to Jack.

Holden talked to Jack for a few minutes before he hung up. "Jack is going to call some friends in the LAPD."

The rest of the Snyder clan filled the room waiting to see if Noah would win and awaited a call from Jack.

-P-

"This is it, Noah," Maddie said with excitement as Salma Hayek took the stage to announce the director's award.

Salma began with a joke and once the laughter died down, she announced the nominees. "And the Golden Globe for best director goes to . . . ," she opened the envelope. ". . . Noah Mayer for Polite Conversation."

Noah sat there for a moment, stunned, that he actually won, before he struggled to stand up. His first thought went to Luke. Luke was the first person to believe in his ability and encourage it. He hugged Maddie gently, walked gingerly up to the stage, and slowly climbed the stairs. He leaned on the usherette, who was an FBI agent. He knew there was security in the audience, backstage and the woman handing out the globes worked for the military police. Noah stepped on the stage and slowly walked up and shook Salma's hand before they kissed each other on the cheek.

"You look great in that dress," Noah whispered to Salma.

"Why thank you kind sir," she whispered back.

Noah smiled at her response. "Could you hold that please? I can't." His condition made it impossible to hold the heavy statue. She agreed. He stepped up to the microphone and took a deep breath.

"Just a warning, I'm on a large dose of pain killers this evening," Noah and the audience laughed. "I would like to thank the Academy for this honor. My ex always made fun of me because my movie collection doesn't contain movies made after 1960." The audience laughed. "I co-wrote a screenplay that melded the best parts of _An Affair to Remember_, _It Happened One Night_, _Casablanca_, and my own very _strange_ life and since I got this . . ." Noah pointed at his statue that Salma was still holding. ". . . I guess I succeeded." Noah paused. "My budget was limited for this film but a low budget doesn't mean low talent. I would like to thank Martha Rich who co-wrote the screenplay with me, my cast, crew, who all did a great job, especially Mindy Jones, Jack Uman, and Jessica West. . ." Noah continued listing off his prominent cast and crew. "I would like to thank my publicist Jim Smith and my agent Mark Smith, who both have been very kind and supportive. Thank you to my gorgeous date and classic film buff, Maddie Coleman, for coming tonight and I would also like to thank the Snyder family in Oakdale, Illinois for believing in me when I did not believe in myself." Noah smiled. "Ethan, why aren't you in bed yet?" The audience laughed with him. "I've had a rough couple of weeks but . . . ," Noah and the audience laughed, "being a director was my biggest dream until I met . . . ." Noah paused. All of a sudden, fear began trembling through his bones. He took a step back from the microphone and looked over at the agent on stage. "He's here. I can feel him."

The agent relayed Noah's message and moved closer to him. Security guards came on stage and began looking around. There was a scream from the left of Noah, a split second before a shot rang out in the ballroom.

Noah swayed as the bullet hit him. "Oh my God!" He raised his hand to his chest . . . it was full of blood. He stared at it for a split second before he looked out at the camera. He was only able to get out one word before he collapsed. "Luke."


	2. Chapter 2

Complete chaos filled the ballroom as people, out of fear, began running towards the exit, screaming at the top of their lungs, knocking down those in their way, just so they could escape. The screaming was so loud that ear drums were threatening to burst as panic overtook most in the room. People in the center of the room, who knew they had no chance on reaching the exits, hid under their tables, in an attempt to protect themselves or their loved ones from any stray bullets that might come their way. The cameras rolled as it caught the best in people, those who were helping to protect others and the worst, those who shoved others out of the way, so they could save themselves.

The military police and FBI agents pulled out their guns, trying to pinpoint the shooter. They saw a single man standing in the base of the stage, holding a gun. The gunman pointed his gun at the stage again but agents fired several rounds that hit the gunman. One of the bullets hit him right between the eyes, killing the gunman instantly.

Maddie's dress ripped as she fought her way through the crowd, shoving her fear aside. Her only thought was to get to Noah. By the time she got to the stage, the paramedics were already putting Noah on a stretcher. A paramedic jumped on the stretcher, attempting to keep Noah from bleeding to death, as two others rolled it quickly off stage and out to an awaiting ambulance. Maddie followed the stretcher and jumped into the front seat of the ambulance.

-P-

Everyone, in Emma's living room, stood and clapped, as Noah's name was announced as the winner. They watched as he walked up to the stage, kissed Salma.

"Lucky man," Holden jealously laughed at Noah's luck.

Lily shoved her elbow into her ex-husband but current boyfriend's stomach.

The room went quiet as Noah stepped up to the microphone. They laughed at his jokes and were surprised he mentioned their family. Ethan snickered as Noah questioned his bedtime. They all looked in horror when Noah was shot and collapsed onto the stage.

At first, everyone thought that it looked like part of an elaborate skit but a close-up of Noah laying in a pool of blood, quickly brought them back to reality. Emma and the other adults wrapped their arms around the screaming kids.

Luke could not believe this was happening again. Noah had been shot during the kidnapping by the Grimaldi heir. Reid was killed in his first human adventure. And now Noah was laying on the stage in a pool of blood on what was supposed to have been an evening of celebrating his greatest achievement. Fear crept down Luke body causing him to go into shock.

Seeing her son catatonic reaction to all that unfolding on the television screen, Lily ran up to Luke, grabbing his phone to call her mother. She knew where they needed to be and quickly. Even though it had been years since they had seen each other, Noah was still part of their family.

Lucinda answered the phone on the first ring. "The plane will be ready in twenty minutes. I'm going with you."

"Thanks," replied Lily and she hung up the phone. She pulled Luke into a standing position. "Come on, we need to get ready so we can get to Los Angeles." She had to drag Luke up to his room. The shock of seeing Noah shot was too much for his brain to process.

-P-

Luke, Lily, and Holden raced into the parking lot of the private terminal thirty minutes later. Lucinda was already on board the plane. The engines were started and she as soon as everyone was buckled in, the plane began moving. Lucinda had requested an emergency takeoff.

Lily's phone rang as the plane was taxiing down the runway. "Hello?"

"Lily Snyder?"

"Yes, this is Lily Snyder."

"This is George Cohn. I am the hospital administrator at Cedars-Sinai hospital . . . ," said George, who was standing outside the operating room that Noah was in.

"Is this about Noah?" Lily interrupted George.

"Yes, ma'am. The reason for my call is that our records indicate that you have medical power of attorney for Noah Mayer?"

"Yes. I am on my way to Los Angeles now. I should be there in about three hours."

"Good, but we need to get your consent now to perform emergency surgery to remove a bullet from his chest."

"Yes, you have my consent to do anything you have to do. Just save him," exclaimed Lily.

"Thank you, ma'am," George looked over at the doctors scrubbing in. "I have the consent. Go!"

George went on to give a quick general overview of Noah's condition. Noah suffered a gunshot wound to the chest. The armor vest Noah was wearing did not stop the bullet and the doctors would not know what kind of damage he had sustained until they opened him up. They talked for a few more minutes before she hung up and shared what little news she had with her family.

-P-

Maddie was just returning from getting something to drink when she saw a blond man rushing down the hallway towards her. She recognized Luke's voice before she realized who it was visually. "Luke, what are you doing here?"

"Is Noah okay?" Luke questioned quickly.

Maddie looked at the dramatic change in Luke's appearance before she hugged him. "He's out of surgery but in critical condition. The bullet did not hit any major organs, so they were able to take it out without an issue but they want to keep him sedated until tomorrow. However, his ribs were even more damaged than they already were. It will take a while for them to heal properly."

After hearing what Maddie said, Lily rushed to the nurses' station, introduced herself, and asked to speak with Noah's doctor. The military and FBI supervisor, who overheard Lily, walked over and explained the progress of the investigation to them before the hospital administrator and the surgeon walked up to give them an update on Noah's condition.

Four hours later, after they knew Noah was going to survive his attack, Lucinda suggested they grab a hotel room but Maddie convinced them to stay at Noah's house with her. She explained that she did not want to stay at the house alone after what had just happened.


	3. Chapter 3

On the way to the house, Maddie explained in detail what had been happening for the past several weeks in Noah's life. The colonel kidnapped Noah and took him to an abandoned house near the ocean. Noah was missing for over a week before he was able to escape but not before his father beat the hell out of him. She told everyone that Noah thought that the colonel was going to kill him, as it turned out, he was right. Everyone was quiet for the rest of the ride to Noah's house.

It was late in the evening when the limousine pulled up to the main gate of the gated community that Noah lived in. Television crews and reporters surrounded the limousine and began shouting at the car. Once the security guard was able to ascertain that Maddie was in the car, he asked the car to pull through the gates and stop again. Maddie talked to the guard for a couple of minutes about her guests staying at the house, Noah's condition and any security related concerns the guards had. When they were finished, the limousine continued on its way into the private community, away from the shouting reporters. Everyone was looking out the windows at what kind of neighborhood it was. They saw large upscale houses that were immaculate.

"Noah moved here about six months ago, once he started to be recognized on the street. His publicist recommended that he move to a gated community for his own safety. I moved in two months ago."

"You live with Noah?" Luke asked gingerly. His insecurities about Noah and Maddie crept back into his brain.

"My job transferred me out here, so Noah suggested I live with him, instead of a hotel, until I found a place of my own," Maddie smiled. "When you see the place, you will understand as to why I'm taking my time looking for my own place."

The limousine pulled up in front of a house with lush tropical landscaping. Everyone got out of the car and stood there with their mouths wide open, looking at the magnificent structure in front of them. The driver gathered the luggage and placed it by the door.

"Come on!" Maddie waved as she started walking to the front door. Each grabbed their luggage and walked through the front door and into foyer. Maddie stopped under the chandelier and waited until everyone was in the house.

"Wow," exclaimed Lily as she looked up at the large chandelier and coved ceiling above her.

"Come on in," Maddie invited them into the living room. "Leave your luggage here."

The living room was a large room with two couches, two chairs, and large fireplace. The waffled ceiling had everyone looking up again. In front of them was a large glass wall. Maddie walked over and pressed another button. The large glass wall began to open. She turned around and looked at her guests. "As you can see, Noah's doing quite well," Maddie noticed a sad look that overtook Luke's face.

"Darling, this house is nicer than my own," Lucinda was only _slightly_ complaining.

"If you think this is great, follow me," Maddie walked up to another series of switches, which turned on the outside lights, and started walking into the covered patio . . .

. . . and out one of the curtain lined archways, into the back yard. She continued to walk across the stone patio and stopped as she stepped up to the edge of the pool.

The only thing that eclipsed the immaculate splendor of the house was the tropical inspired back yard. The stone patio ran the full length of the long house. Lush tropical plants, including palm trees, made them all feel like they were in the tropics. The landscape lights lit up the important landmarks of the patio and the swimming pool.

"Wow!" Lily sputtered again.

"Gorgeous!" Lucinda looked in awe.

"I can't believe Noah owns something like this!" Holden finally found his voice.

"Noah needed a place good enough to bring Hollywood heavyweights. You have to fit the part, so to speak. He said he fell in love with the back yard instantly. You come back here and you seem to forget about your problems," Maddie looked quickly in Luke's direction.

Luke bent down and felt the pool water. It was nice and warm. Maddie wandered off while everyone was looking at the splendor of the back yard but before she could come back, they heard growling coming from behind them. They turned around to find a four-month old chocolate lab puppy glaring at them.

"Hershey, stop that!" Maddie commanded. Hershey ceased growling and ran over to Maddie with her tail wagging. "She's friendly but protective. The neighbor's kids love to come over and play in the pool with her."

Hershey wagged her tail harder every time she heard her name. She moved slowly over and started sniffing the guests. When she got to Luke, she took a couple of sniffs and started wagging her tail wildly. Luke knelt down to pet the dog, only to have her trying to lick his face off. Luke's face broke out into a huge grin.

"Awww," Lily was happy to see Luke smiling again.

"The dog swims in the pool?" Holden questioned.

"Sure does. Labs love water," Maddie had a smile on her face as Luke and Hershey got to know each other. "Well, I need to get out of this dress and I'm sure you all are tired. Hershey, it's time to go to bed. Go to the bathroom." They all watched as Hershey ran off to the side of the house. "She's a very smart dog. You can pretty much tell her anything and she will do it. I've never seen anything like it."

"How did Noah get her?" asked Lucinda.

"From one of the executives at the studio, whose dog had puppies. Noah was thinking about getting a dog, so he went over to look at them. As soon as Noah walked into the house, Hershey started following him around and when he sat down, Hershey climbed into his lap and fell asleep. She is active and playful but loves to cuddle. Noah fell in love with her instantly and vice versa."

Hershey ran back to the group with a stuffed animal in her mouth.

"That's her teddy."

"Awwww," Luke could not believe how cute Hershey was. He could see why Noah fell in love with her. They had dogs on the farm through the years but they did not compare to Hershey, who seemed almost human like.

Lily was happy with the Luke's responses to the house and Hershey. He had been in his own little world for so long. She hoped this whole situation would help open him back up.

Maddie turned and started walking towards the house with everyone following closely behind her. Once all were in the house, she pressed the button to close the wall of windows and turned off the outside lights. They walked back to the foyer to get their luggage. There were five bedrooms in the main house and a two-bedroom guest suite, which was on the other side of the house. Maddie showed them which room she was staying in, which was the furthest away from Noah's, and gave them the other three bedrooms in the main part of the house. Luke was in bed for a few minutes when he felt a little movement of his mattress and felt a small warm body curl up to his own, as he drifted off to sleep.

-P-

Luke tossed and turned most of the night. He was just too worried about Noah and decided to get up when the morning light filtered into his room. He had to laugh as he looked over to find Hershey, lying next to him, under the blankets with her head on the pillow and a paw over her teddy. Hershey opened her eyes and yawned. She gave a nasty look at Luke as if saying _go back to sleep._

Luke got up, went to the bathroom, and decided to look around. He quietly walked out of his room and down the hall. Hershey followed him closely. He was curious about what Noah's bedroom looked like. Luke walked up to Noah's door, took a quick look around to make sure nobody was watching. He opened the bedroom door, slipped inside, and shut the door behind him. It was a large room that was designed similar to his own smaller room but the master bedroom had all of the upgrades. Luke was surprised. Noah had always been a laid-back person and normally did not like this much luxury. The whole house was a far departure from the simple apartment they once shared.

Hershey walked over to the bench at the foot of Noah's bed, jumped up on it, looked at the empty bed, and began to whimper.

Luke scanned the room. He was not overly surprised to find a tray ceiling, since they seemed to run through the entire house but the gold leafing of this tray gave off a spectacular golden glow, as the light illuminated it. There was a king sized four-poster bed, sitting area and a fireplace that was flanked by two built-in cabinets.

Sitting on the shelf of the cabinets were pictures of his family with Noah. He laughed at the picture of Noah, flat on the ground, with Ethan, Natalie, and Faith on top of him. They were laughing as they tried to pry a football from his arms, which must have been from one of the Snyders' Thanksgiving football games. Tears started falling down his face when he saw a picture of Noah's last Christmas at the farm when Noah was blind. In the picture, Noah was staring at the camera but Luke was looking at Noah. He found several pictures of himself and Noah sitting at their bench in Old Town, at the pond, and sitting in a booth at Al's.

He also found a picture of himself and Noah at Java and lying in front of the picture frame was the twisted pink and purple key chain his sisters made at camp. "Happy endings don't exist," Luke thought to himself.

"_Not every relationship is destined to fail_," Noah had said all those years ago.

"_Maybe not in fantasy land but in the real world, no, happy endings don't exist_," a single tear rolled down his cheek as he remembered. "No, happy endings don't exist," he whispered aloud. Boy, how he ended up being so right.

On the next shelf were a few more pictures and a DVD box. The outside of the box had "Mushroom Hunting 09/04/2008" written on it. Luke started laughing. "I can't believe he kept this. Grandmother will be pissed."

-P-

After looking around in the bedroom, Luke walked into the bathroom. He turned on the light and was shocked by the beauty of it. Luke had been in some of the best hotels and spas in the world throughout his life but this bathroom was the best he had ever laid his eyes on. He saw two walk-in closets, Noah was using one, and the other one was empty, except for a pair of sneakers and a box. "Hey, those are my sneakers." He wondered what where they doing in Noah's closet. The box held the camera that the Snyders bought him five years ago. He picked up the sneakers only to find bite marks all over them. Luke threw a nasty look in Hershey's direction.

Luke moved further into the bathroom and found two sinks that were set in a custom vanity, a large soaker tub, decorative columns, and arches that separated each area of the bathroom. At the end was a large glass enclosed tiled steam shower. It was the largest shower he had ever seen in a house. It looked like it could be more comfortable in a locker room and not a master bathroom.

He slipped into a fantasy of watching Noah showering, until Hershey rubbed up against his leg interrupting him. Luke figured Hershey needed to go outside. "Let's go out girl." Luke turned and started walking towards the door. Hershey ran past him and waited at the door. He turned off the lights, walked out of Noah's bedroom, down the hall into the living room, and clicked on the button to open the wall of glass. As soon as there was enough space to get through, Hershey rushed out into the yard.

Luke could feel the cool morning air against his face, as the wall opened up. He walked out to the patio and up to the pool. He looked around at the beautiful surroundings before kneeling to run his hand through the pool water. "Man, I wish I had a bathing suit." But before Luke could do anything, he was knocked off balance by Hershey jumping on his back and fell face first into the pool. "What the hell, Hershey!" he shouted after he came up for air. He watched as she swam around him and headed to the pool stairs. She got out of the pool, searched through a box, and came back to the pool's edge with a ball in her mouth.

Luke lifted himself out of the pool, pulled off his lounge pants and t-shirt, and hung them on the back of two chairs to dry and jumped back into the pool in only his underwear, with Hershey close behind him. He played with her for twenty minutes before they were both tired and got out. He found a towel in the pool house and dried himself off.

-P-

An hour later, Luke was lying in the morning sun, on one of the deck lounge chairs near the pool, as he drank a cup of coffee. He noticed Hershey's ears perk up as she turned her head to look at the house. He quickly pulled his lounging pants and t-shirt on. Moments later, Lucinda and his parents wandered out of the house.

"Over here," Luke waved. "It's a beautiful morning. There's a pot of coffee in the pool house."

Lucinda and his parents walked over to Luke, only to stop when they heard Hershey, who was lying next to Luke's chair, start growling at them.

"Well, someone loves you," Lily smiled.

"Hershey, stop. They are family," Luke lightly chastised the dog.

Hershey stopped growling and began to wag her tail.

"She's such a cute puppy," laughed Holden.

"I called the hospital," Lily announced. "Noah is resting comfortably but they plan on keeping him sedated until noon. They do not expect him to wake up until late this afternoon."

Luke relaxed a little. He was glad that Noah was doing better. He wanted to call when he woke up but he did not have the number and did not want to wake up his parents.

Lucinda took a step but stopped when Hershey started growling again. Lucinda gave her a _don't mess with me _look, causing Hershey to yelp and scramble to the other side of Luke's chair, so Luke was in-between herself and Lucinda. Laughter roared as Lucinda walked over to the side of the pool and knelt down to feel the water.

"Grandmother, I wouldn't do . . . ," but before Luke could finish, Hershey took off running and jumped on Lucinda's back, causing them both to tumble into the pool.

"Ahhh," Lucinda yelled out as she hit the water.

Luke and Holden immediately jumped into the pool, each grabbing an arm to steady her, as she came up for air.

Lucinda came up out of the water sputtering. She wiped the water from her face. "You little bitch!"

"Lucinda, are you alright?" Holden was trying not to laugh. He waited his entire adult life waiting for someone to take Lucinda down a notch . . . and it was a puppy.

Luke could not say anything. It was taking all his strength not to laugh.

Lily was trying not to laugh at the situation either. "Don't worry about mother. She can use her new breasts as flotation devices."

Lucinda turned to look at Lily with surprise. "Are we jealous that I won't be afflicted by gravity like you will, darling?" she finished with a laugh. After getting married to John, Lucinda decided that she wanted breast reconstruction surgery. She decided on using a smaller implant and a new procedure that used her own body fat and stem cells to surround each implant, making them look more natural and less balloonish.

Lily watched as Hershey swam away from the group in the pool, climbed up the stairs, and grabbed her ball. Hershey ran back to the pool's edge and threw the ball where Luke, Holden, and Lucinda were standing in the water, with her tail wagging.

Maddie rushed out of the house and up to the side of the pool. "What happened?"

"That little _bitch_ of a . . . ," Lucinda started to yell again.

Luke interrupted. "Hershey knocked Grandmother into the pool. She did the same thing to me earlier."

"Hershey!" Maddie scolded. Hershey's tail went between her legs. "Go over to your bed and stay there until I call you." Hershey slinked away to her bed near the pool house. "I am so sorry. She knows she is not supposed to do that but she is still a puppy."

"Not for long she isn't!" Lucinda was on the warpath.

"The water is fantastic, isn't it?" Luke tried to change the subject.

"It's warm but refreshing at the same time," Holden added as he pulled off his shirt and threw it on the patio. Luke followed suit with his t-shirt. Lily picked up the shirts, wrung them out in the pool, and hung them up behind the chairs to dry.

"Is that a hot tub?" Lucinda pointed to the rocky side of the pool.

"Yes," Maddie replied with a smile.

"Since I am already wet, I'm going to have a soak."

Luke and Holden helped Lucinda out of the pool and over to the hot tub. They helped Maddie roll back the cover of the built in hot tub.

Luke put his hand in water. "It's only warm."

"Noah likes to keep it on the cooler side," Maddie rolled her eyes. She picked up the remote from a nearby rock, made a few adjustments and the jets turned on. "The water is pretty warm already and this tub has one heck of a heater."

Lucinda stepped into the hot tub. She watched as Lily sat on the edge of the hot tub and put her legs in to soak. A few minutes later, Lucinda with an evil grin on her face, grabbed Lily by her legs and pulled her into the hot tub.

"Mother!" Lily yelled out.

"Why should you be the only one dry?" Lucinda countered with a grin.

Luke and Holden went back to swim in the pool. Maddie made a fresh pot of coffee. Hershey's whining increased as she saw Holden and Luke swimming. Maddie looked over at Hershey, who already had a ball in her mouth so she could play in the pool with the men. Maddie gave her the okay and Hershey ran up to the pool and jumped in by Luke and Holden.

A half hour later, everyone dried off the best they could and went into the house to take a shower. Maddie started breakfast. Hershey stayed out in the sun to dry off and to take a nap.


	4. Chapter 4

As soon as Maddie, Lucinda, and the Snyders arrived at the hospital, the paparazzi and media surrounded their limousine.

"What are they doing here?" asked Lily with concern as she looked out the windows.

"I do not know," Maddie was a bit scared at the jostling of the vehicle.

"I figured this might happen," Lucinda pulled out her cellphone to call an old friend. "This is Lucinda. I need security to meet us outside the hospital. We are trapped in our limousine by the reporters." Lucinda listened to the person on the other side of the conversation. "Shit!" she spouted as she pointed at Luke's iPad. "Those blood sucking bastards! Bring up the LA Times website."

Luke followed her instructions and gasped when the page loaded. "Oh my God." He turned the screen so everyone could look at it and on the front page was a picture of Noah and himself with the headline of Luke identified as Lucinda Walsh's grandson, Luciano Snyder. He read the article aloud.

"That explains it," Holden replied after Luke finished reading.

About that time, a large van pulled up next to the surrounded limousine. Security from the van and the hospital descended on the limousine, moving away the reporters and paparazzi. Maddie, Lucinda, and the Snyders stepped out of the limousine and into the hospital amid the cameras, flash bulbs and the reporters yelling questions at them. Luke kept his head down and entered the hospital as quickly as possible. George Cohn, the hospital administrator, met them at the door, apologizing for all the trouble. He gave them access to a secure entrance, so they could avoid the press in the future.

-P-

It was late in the afternoon and Luke had been sitting next to Noah for about an hour. Noah's looks had not changed very much. He was more muscular but other than that, he looked virtually the same. It was strange for Luke to look at Noah and realize that there was not much of an emotional connection, as there was when he left for Los Angeles. He still loved Noah with all his heart but he did not know much about the man lying in front of him, other than what he watched in interviews or all the dalliances he read about in the tabloids. Noah had gotten over him.

Luke looked up at Noah and saw him stirring. He got up, stood beside the bed, and pressed the call button. Noah opened his eyes, looked over, but he did not recognize the person standing next to him.

The nurse came in and took Noah's vitals. The nurses had been giving Luke dirty looks all afternoon. There was a second story in the Times that gave an unflattering portrayal of Luke when it came to his and Noah's relationship, specifically about Luke dumping Noah for Reid. It became obvious that the nurses had read the article.

"Noah will want some ice chips," Luke informed the nurse.

The nurse just looked at Luke with confusion.

"We've been in a similar situation before."

"So I've read," the nurse replied off-hand.

"They never report the whole story, you know," Luke tossed back.

The nurse looked at Luke again and then left the room.

-P-

When Noah was finally able to focus, he looked over again at who was standing beside his bed. He almost did not recognize Luke. He was not clean cut as he used to be. His windblown hair was down to his shoulders and he had a few days' worth of stubble on his face. The shine in his eyes was gone. He knew, in that moment, something was very wrong with Luke.

Noah blinked a few times. "Luke?" he was able to squeak out. His throat was killing him.

"Yes."

"Scruffy-looking nerf herder," Noah quietly whispered. Noah could only speak a few words at a time because of his sore throat. He was sure Luke would not get the movie connection.

Luke was a little put off but smiled anyway. "Who's scruffy-looking?" he taunted back.

"Nice," Noah slightly grinned. He was impressed that Luke got the connection. "You're getting better in your old age."

"Ethan went through a Star Wars faze," Luke rolled his eyes. "How are you feeling?"

Noah's face filled with pain as he attempted to move. "Like I got run over by a train!" Noah closed his eyes and dozed off.

Luke looked at Noah with shock on his face. He knew right away that Noah was too groggy and in a lot of pain to realize what he said but the shock of hearing those words shook him to the core.

Noah woke up several hours later. Even in his drowsy state there was only one thing on his mind. "Colonel?" he asked, sounding like a frog. He wanted to know who did this to him.

"Yes, it was your father," Luke did not feel bad for the colonel at all. He got what he deserved. "He's dead!"

"Good!" Noah was relieved it was finally over. At least he hoped it was over. "Hurt you?"

"No, I haven't had any contact with him since he went to prison," Luke replied honestly.

"Good," Noah was happy that the colonel did not bother Luke. "Did you come out alone?"

"No, Grandmother and my parents came out with me. We all wanted to see if you were okay?"

"Couldn't come alone, huh?" Noah just could not help taking a jab. "Ice chip, please?"

"Let's not start out this way," Luke did not like the intended jab. He put an ice chip into Noah's opened mouth.

"Sorry," Noah almost felt ashamed but he was still pissed at Luke for not coming out to Los Angeles. Five years had gone by. He waited and waited for Luke. Frankly, he was still waiting. "I need to talk to Lucinda." Noah closed his eyes again.

Luke bowed his head. He knew Noah was angry with him. He turned away from the bed and left the room to get Lucinda. He stopped in the corridor and leaned against the wall for a minute, as their history came back to him in a rush, before he continued to the waiting room. "Grandmother, Noah would like to see you."

"How is he, darling?" Lucinda asked. Lily, Holden, and Maddie looked up with concern.

"He's in and out of consciousness. He is still in a lot of pain when he moves but he seems okay otherwise. He's short with me but I don't blame him," Luke's reply was sad. "He wants to speak to you, Grandmother."

Lucinda stood up and walked back to Noah's room with Luke. Noah was sleeping when they entered the room. She sat down in a chair that was by the side of his bed. She could see that Luke was upset. "Just remember, he called out your name. If he didn't love you, he wouldn't have." Luke did not say anything. He did not know what to say. His mind was racing with thoughts of when they met at WOAK, to the day he saw Noah lying in the hospital bed and everything in-between.

An hour later, Noah opened his eyes and smiled at Lucinda as soon as she stood up. Noah noticed something different about her but he could not put his finger on it.

"My dear boy," Lucinda gave Noah a kiss on the cheek. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine!" Noah whispered, trying not to aggravate his throat. "What did they do . . . his body?"

"I think it's still in the morgue," Lucinda looked at him strangely.

"Are you sure it's him?" Noah wanted to know.

"Oooh, darling," Lucinda hissed. "I haven't seen the body but they identified it as him." She did not even want to say the evil man's name.

"He's done this before," Noah's words were barely audible. "I need to know." The pain and anguish of what his father had done to him throughout his life showed on his face.

Luke touched Noah's arm, only to have him flinch at the touch. "Relax, Noah. What do you want us to do?" Luke removed his hand from Noah.

"I need to know," tears began to fall down Noah's face.

"I'm not sure it's needed this . . . ."

"Noah's right, Grandmother. We need to make sure," Luke agreed with Noah.

Noah looked quickly at him and put his hand over Luke's. He was happy that Luke saw it his way, which calmed him down a little.

"Okay," Lucinda pulled out her cellphone and made a call. "It's Lucinda, I need your help. Can you come down to the hospital?" . . . "It's about Colonel Mayer . . . Yes, I thought that would peak your interest." Lucinda hung up the phone.

Still feeling weak, Noah shut his eyes. About an hour later, Colonel Wright walked into the room. Noah instinctively woke up as the door opened. He knew his father was dead but he could not let his guard down until he knew for sure.

Lucinda walked up to the colonel as soon as he entered the room. "We would like to have Colonel Mayer's DNA tested."

Colonel Wright was surprised. "Why?"

"The man has died twice already, Colonel. We just want to be sure this time," Lucinda stated.

"I can assure you that I knew your father and that is him," the colonel looked over to Noah. "Anyway, I came to tell you that we are taking his body to get it ready for burial."

"The hell you are," scoffed Lucinda. "It's not going anywhere until we get some of his DNA."

"I'm sorry, ma'am, I do not take orders from you," the colonel was insulted by a civilian questioning him.

Luke sat back and with a grin on his face, waited for the fireworks to begin. Noah could only cringe at how foolish the colonel was.

Lucinda stepped up to the colonel in anger. "Don't fuck with me, Colonel. You will lose!"

Like a good soldier, the colonel stood defiant against the threat.

Noah spoke with all the strength his weakened body would allow. "Lucinda Walsh is one of the most powerful women in the country."

Lucinda snapped her head around to Noah. "Fuck you, darling! I am the most powerful woman in this country." Lucinda pulled out her cell phone.

Noah could only laugh, through the pain, at Lucinda. Getting older had not changed her at all and he loved that. Lucinda stepped to the side of the room as she spoke softly into her phone.

"Sorry colonel, I hope you don't mind being shipped off to some piss-ant place to dig latrines," Luke taunted the colonel.

The colonel looked at Luke with fire in his eyes. He could not believe a civilian was talking to him in that manner.

"Colonel," Lucinda turned around. "You should be getting a call from your boss in four . . . three . . . two . . . one . . . , " Lucinda pointed to him as the colonel's phone began to ring.

The colonel moved off to an empty side of the room. Luke, Noah, and Lucinda watched as the colonel stood at attention and repeated a lot of yes sir's. Lucinda was not the type of person who started at the bottom. The colonel turned around slowly after he hung up his cell phone. "How did you do that?" He looked at her with shock written all over his face. "While standard procedures require certain things, I've been told to give you what you asked."

-P-

The door to Noah's room opened and all were surprised to see Dusty standing there with Janet and Lorenzo. Dusty, Janet and Lorenzo moved out to Los Angeles a few years ago, where he bought a security business. Being associated with Lucinda went a long way and he used every mile he could. The security provided at Noah's gated-community was from Dusty's company and even though they lived only a few miles from each other, they would get together as much as they could but with Noah's busy schedule, it was not as often as they liked.

"Just the man I wanted to see," Lucinda walked up to him, kissed him on the cheek, and pulled him into a hug.

The colonel turned towards Noah. "What kind of arrangements would you like to make for your father?"

Noah looked at the colonel in puzzlement. "I know he was a war hero but he was a shitty father. I don't care what you do with his body."

The colonel looked strangely at Noah but accepted his answer.

"Shall we do this now and get it over with?" Lucinda wrapped her arm around the colonel as they walked to the door.

Luke followed Lucinda out the door while Janet and Lorenzo stayed and talked with Noah. A few minutes later, Janet and Lorenzo walked into the waiting room and told everyone that Noah was asleep. They caught up while Dusty and Lucinda were busy with the colonel.

-P-

Later that evening, Noah woke up with Holden sitting beside his bed. "What's wrong with Luke?" Noah could not get out of his head how different Luke looked.

Holden tried to find the right words before replying to Noah's question. "After you left Oakdale, Luke became distant and quiet."

"Quiet?" Noah snickered but soon regretted it when his ribs protested.

"If you can believe it," Holden had to chuckle at the thought too. "Well, to put it briefly, he lost his confidence."

"He what?" Noah was surprised at what Holden revealed.

"Reid died, you left and the business started to have some trouble because of the bad economy but Luke thought it was his fault . . . that everything was his fault. He became distant and even started having panic attacks. He didn't want to go anywhere and basically shut himself down. We finally convinced him to go to therapy. It's been helping but as you can see, he is a different person."

"I almost asked him who he was," deep down, Noah knew it was his fault.

Holden could see a change in Noah's expression. "It's not . . . ."

"Yes, it is," Noah was on the verge of tears, as the nurse walked into the room. "It's all my fault."

The nurse looked angrily at Holden. "What are you upsetting him for?"

The nurse rushed Holden out of Noah's room. Once the door to the room closed, they were standing in the corridor, Holden tried to explain. "He took something I said the wrong way. In no way was I trying to upset him."

"The fact is that it happened. Noah needs his rest. If I have to ban all of you, I will," the nurse was determined to keep Noah as calm and comfortable as the situation allowed. "I'm going to give him something to calm him down. It will probably put him to sleep. I would recommend a quick goodbye from all of you and don't come back until tomorrow." The nurse walked away from Holden.

Holden went to tell the family.

-P-

The next morning, Luke, Maddie, Holden, Lucinda and Lily walked to Noah's room, but did not go in because someone else was with him in his room.

Maddie waved as the person who was visiting Noah, looked out into the hallway. "That's Jim." They started walking to the waiting room.

Luke's face fell at the thought Jim could be Noah's boyfriend. Looking back, he could imagine how hard it must have been for Noah to see that he had moved on.

"He's Noah's publicist," Maddie added when everyone stared at her wondering who Jim was.

It was not as if Luke was looking to pick things up with Noah but the thought of Noah having a boyfriend almost made his heart stop beating. He was relieved when Maddie said he was Noah's publicist.

"Excellent. A good publicist is worth the money," Lucinda was happy Noah had someone to help him. "I fired mine when he attempted to tell me what to do." Nobody was surprised.

"Jim is over at the house all the time," Maddie added.

Luke took notice of her comment but did not say anything. When they reached the waiting room, Luke pulled out his iPad and started typing, quickly on it. A few minutes later, Jim walked into the waiting room.

"Hi, I'm Jim Smith, Noah's publicist," Jim greeted everyone. The family, one-by-one introduced themselves. "I just talked to Noah, quickly, about how he wants to handle this situation."

"Good, good," Lucinda knew that getting the handle on this situation could help Noah and Luke avoid any more bad press.

"We are getting a lot of press inquiries about Noah's health and he wants me to have a press conference, with the medical staff in attendance, to release some minimal information, in hopes that it will be enough and the reporters will move on to another story. I think that is wishful thinking. This is going to be the press event of the year, if not the decade," announced Jim. "Noah has asked me to inform you that he would prefer that you not talk to the press about anything concerning him."

"No way!" Luke blurted out before Lucinda had a chance to speak.

"What?" Jim was surprised by Luke unwillingness to comply. "Why?"

"I'm being butchered. I've been treated like I'm a cheater and some crazy nutjob," Luke looked at a few more sites on his iPad and was tired of reading about how much he hurt Noah and how much of a crazy person he was. "I've been working on a statement."

"I really wish you wouldn't. Noah has instructed me what to say if it comes up during the press conference, which I think it will. We can take care of it then," Jim revealed. "But I have to ask you to do something for me."

"What?" Luke asked cautiously.

"Can I be frank?"

"Sure," Luke was almost scared at what he was going to be asked.

"I'm going to have a hard time trying to convince people that you aren't crazy, if you look like you are."

"What?" Jim's bluntness took Luke by surprise.

"Now, hold on!" Lily came to her son's defense.

Jim held up his hand. Luke and Lily stopped talking. "I mean no disrespect but this is Hollywood. Looks matter." He put his hand up to his chin in thought. "Do you want to be the new Nick Nolte mug shot?" Jim finished with a teasing smile.

Luke turned to Lucinda. "Is this why you fired your guy?"

"Pretty much!" Lucinda responded. She turned her attention to Jim. "How dare you assume anything about my grandson!"

"I already know a lot about all of you," Jim shook his head. "Holden and Lily are the loving parents that Noah always wished he had growing up with." Holden smiled and Lily starting tearing up. "Noah described you, Lucinda, as having bigger balls than his."

"That's true, darling, big brass ones!" Lucinda laughed as she gestured the size of them.

"Oh, mother," Lily replied with a roll her eyes.

Lucinda's response put a smile on Jim face from ear to ear. Noah described her down to a T. He turned to Luke. "And you, Luke, you're the one. . ." Jim paused for a few moments before he continued, ". . . that got away!" Luke was a little surprised by the comment. "But seriously, Luke, all I ask is that you trim your beard and put some hair product on . . . and press your clothes. There is a salon on the third floor."

Before anyone could respond, George, the hospital administrator, walked into the waiting room. "Jim, we need to go over this information."

Jim turned to George. "I'll be right with you, George," Jim turned back to the Snyders. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. Please think about what I said. This can be handled quickly if you will let me take care of it. I know I was blunt but I'm trying to make this whole situation easier for everyone." With that, he turned around and both he and George walked out of the waiting room.

Holden exhaled. "Wow!"

"Yeah," Lily turned to look at Luke. "What are you going to do?"

Luke had a look of defeat on his face. "I'm going down to the salon on the third floor." It was true. He did not care about his appearance anymore but the last thing he wanted to do is make things worse for Noah.

"Good. I will come down with you. I'm willing to do my part and have a manicure," smiled Lucinda as she looked at her nails.

"They give chair massages as well and with all the stress we've had lately, we could use a little pampering," Maddie smiled as they all walked towards the elevator.

"I'll have to suffer with one of those as well," Lucinda laughed.

-P-

Two hours later, Jim walked through the door of the salon. He did not notice Luke sitting next to Maddie, just a blond guy. "Maddie, where's Luke? We need to get to the press conference."

"I'm right here," the blond guy replied. Luke was clean-shaven, his hair was trimmed, and he had some product keeping the frizzing down to a minimum.

Jim's eyes expanded as big as saucers and could only stare at Luke for a moment. "You clean up pretty good, Mr. Snyder but I think I like it short better, like the pictures in Noah's bedroom."

Luke looked angrily at Jim.

Jim noticed the look but ignored it. "The press conference is starting in five minutes and we have a few things to discuss." Everyone gathered around Jim. "This will be the hardest on you, Luke. The press will likely veer away from asking about Noah to asking questions about you, rather quickly."

"We've already figured that out," stated Lily.

"I know it will be hard but I would prefer that nobody react to any question that is asked during the press conference," Jim looked hopeful. "If you get mad or make a face, they will keep digging until they figure out why you reacted. Not showing any reaction will give the press less ammunition in the long run."

"We are not novices at press conferences," Luke pointed to himself, Lily and Lucinda. "Our professional lives require us to be in front of the press quite regularly."

"Yes, I know. But this time they will be after your blood and any mistake will make those vampires want to suck you dry," Jim looked at his watch. "Crap, let's go or we will be late."

-P-

Noah was well liked by the entertainment press. He gave good interviews because of his down-to-earth nature and the love for his craft.

The room was packed, wall-to-wall, with the press. All the typical entertainment press was there but also the major cable news networks were in attendance as well. The hospital administrator thought they were violating the fire code by the sheer number of people in the room but they could use overcrowding as an excuse to keep things short. Jim opened the press conference by giving a brief overview of what had happened to Noah over the past couple of weeks. The doctor took over and described Noah's condition, in a short summary. When the doctor finished, Jim asked if there were any questions.

"What is the relationship between Mr. Mayer and Mr. Snyder?" a reporter for Entertainment Weekly asked.

"Mr. Mayer does not wish to discuss his personal life with the press but Mr. Mayer and Mr. Snyder do not really have a relationship other than a friendly phone call, e-mail or a text every so often. Other than that, they have had no contact for five years." Jim paused for a moment. "Mr. Mayer has been shocked by the coverage of his past personal relationship with Mr. Snyder and he wishes to clear one thing up. I am quoting directly from Mr. Mayer, 'If anyone is to blame for our breakup it is me. I cherished the time we had together as the best times of my life and regret deeply that our relationship is over.'"

Luke continued to look ahead but he was shocked at Noah's quote about their relationship.

"He jokingly told me to advise you that Mr. Snyder's grandmother, Lucinda Walsh, has a stable of very bored lawyers on staff, just waiting for something to do," Jim chuckled as he spoke. "But he said not to worry about that though. You only need to worry if Lucinda calls you herself."

Laughter spread around in the crowd. The press knew exactly who Lucinda Walsh was and knew her reputation.

"Any other questions?"

A reporter for ET spoke up. "What about you Mr. Snyder, would you like to respond to the press accounts of your relationship issues with Noah?"

Jim looked around at Luke. Luke took as a sign that he should react. With no expression, Luke, calmly shook his head from side to side.

"No, neither Mr. Snyder nor his family wish to discuss their personal lives with the press, nor will they be releasing any further statements to the press at this time. Thank you all for coming."

Jim gathered everyone and whisked them out of the room and down the hall to the elevator. He was happy at the outcome of the press conference. He was confident that most inquires would be more civil.

-P-

Holden and Lily went back to Oakdale after a week. Lucinda stayed to watch over Luke, and Noah, but she also set up some business meetings for herself at Grimaldi Shipping. With Lily running World Wide, Luke hired Lucinda as a second-in-command, so he had someone at Grimaldi he could trust and learn from. Two weeks later, Lucinda went back to Oakdale to run Grimaldi for Luke while he remained to care for Noah.

A week later, when Noah was released from the hospital, Hershey was glued to his side. The only time she left him was when she had to go to the bathroom. Nobody was able to get close to Noah, except Luke and Maddie, without her growling at them. She was so insistent on keeping him safe that she would tear apart furniture while they were gone, if they left her behind, when they went to a doctor's or physical therapy appointment.

Between all of Noah's appointments, Maddie, neighbors, friends, and acquaintances dropping by, Luke and Noah never had a chance to talk. It would be several more weeks before hell would break loose.


	5. Chapter 5

The first thing Luke did when he got back from his meeting was to put on a swimsuit and walk out to the pool. He needed to relax after such a contentious meeting. A quick dip and maybe some ball with Hershey was what he needed but he stopped cold when he saw Noah sitting in a deck lounge chair, drinking a beer, wearing a small red speedo. He could see bruise marks around Noah's rib cage and a small bandage where the bullet wound was located but it was the speedo that distracted him.

"Hey, I didn't think you would be home so quick," Noah covered himself with a towel, when he noticed Luke.

All Luke wanted to do was scream at Noah. "_Don't cover yourself, you jackass!_" He sat down and they quietly laid there in the sun, until Noah stood up and came back from the outdoor kitchen with another beer in his hand.

"You are drinking a bit much, aren't you?" Luke was concerned with Noah's emotional state.

"I'm trying to forget my troubles," Noah replied smartly. He was living in a house with the two people whose hearts he broke and was recovering from a gunshot wound his own father caused.

Noah's reply worried Luke. He thought for a second before he spoke. "It will not work you know."

"You can go if you want to. I know you do not want to be here," Noah flatly told Luke.

Luke was shocked by his directness. "Says who?"

Noah turned to Luke and stared at him for a moment. "It's been _five years_, Luke."

"Don't you think I know that?" Luke's voice rose in volume.

"I don't know, Luke. I do not know much about you anymore."

Luke was shocked at first but realized what Noah had said was true. They both had changed, a lot, in the past five years. "You're right."

"Why are you still here?" Noah asked Luke outright.

"I'm here to help you," Luke looked strangely at Noah.

"Am I your newest project? _Almost killed by your father Noah_ and before that there was _being human Reid_ and before that there was _blind Noah_ and . . . ."

"Fuck you!" Luke yelled. "I'm here trying to help you and you shit all over it."

Noah paused to capture his thoughts. "I sent you all those letters about how I wanted you, begging you, to come out to Los Angeles. Hell, I even went to therapy for two years, so I could be a better person for you."

"But in those letters, you told me how _well_ you were doing out here . . . alone."

Noah did not get it. Hershey jumped onto Noah's deck lounge chair and laid between his legs, resting her head across his knee, as if she was trying to tell her master to calm down.

Luke noticed Noah's confused look. "I thought I would just get in your way."

"What?" Noah head had begun to spin. He could not believe what he had just heard.

"You were doing so well. I thought if I came out . . . ."

Noah interrupted Luke. "What a dumb ass!"

"Hey!" Luke felt insulted.

Noah stood up and started pacing around the patio, without the towel around his waist. Tears fell from his eyes. "I've done well, because all I've done is work. I haven't had a personal life since I came out here." Noah started shouting. "Are you shitting me? . . . I can't believe you are saying this to me."

Luke tried to remain calm. "I learned a lot of things after Reid died and you left. One of those things is that my life, well, you know, has a lot of _drama_ in it."

Noah, holding his ribs, could not help but laugh at Luke's comment.

"Oh sure, laugh," Luke was pissed off that Noah was laughing at what he said. "Fuck you! Your life isn't all that _calm_ either you know." Luke paused until Noah was more composed. "I went into a depressive state for a while and ended up in therapy. Anyway, it took me a while to figure things out. I've thought about coming out here for the past two years but every e-mail you sent . . . you just sounded like your life was going well and I didn't want to screw it up with my problems."

Noah could not believe the words that had come out of Luke's mouth. Luke did want to be with him. He thought, all this time, that Luke did not want him.

"Besides, you have men pawing all over you all the time," Luke shivered at the thought.

"Luke, this is Hollywood. I'm surrounded by _really hot_ men all day," Noah said plainly.

Hershey started growling, which caught Noah's attention. Her body was facing the gate that led to the driveway. He knew someone was coming, so he grabbed a towel from the back of his chair and wrapped it around his waist.

Luke's face turned dark. "I know, I've read about it in the magazines. You wouldn't have had time for me anyway."

Noah was startled by Luke's comments but he did not have time to react before the gate near the driveway opened up and in walked a short blonde woman. Noah knew who it was instantly.

"Who's that?" Luke could not see the gate from where he was sitting.

Hershey darted off of Noah's deck lounge chair and ran towards the guest. The blonde woman knelt down and let Hershey lick her face for a few moments. She stood back up and walked over to where Luke and Noah were sitting. Hershey was running around the guest with her tail wagging with excitement.

Luke recognized her immediately as soon as she came into his view. He stood up, and walked up to her. "Cyndi, it's so good to see you again," Luke opened up his arms.

"_Luciano_," Cyndi greeted Luke in her best Italian accent as she hugged him. Cyndi, let go of Luke and walked over to Noah to ask about his recovery and gave him a loose hug as she listened to him. "I am so sorry you had to go through that and I'm glad you are doing better," Cyndi was relieved. She looked back to Luke. "But I'm really glad to see you here, _Luciano_. What's all the shouting about?"

"This asshole just told me that he didn't come out because he thought I was doing well without him and believed all the tabloids articles about me," Noah seethed.

"Asshole?" Luke shouted back. "Who are you calling an asshole?"

"Guys, calm down!" Cyndi was wondering if she had to referee.

"I can't believe this. I have not been with anyone in _five years_ because all I wanted was you," Noah said loudly.

Luke froze when Noah said that he wanted him.

"Five years?" Cyndi had a surprised look on her face. "Really?"

"Yes, five years," Noah sighed.

"Wow!" She turned to Luke. "I can tell you that Noah has the reputation of being very chasten, Luke. Everyone knows he doesn't date but the paparazzi likes twist situations to their advantages."

Noah felt like smiling but the thought disappeared as he realized she made him sound a little pathetic.

Luke could not believe what he was hearing. "You wanted me?"

"You know I did. I asked you to come out here, even before I left Oakdale. I told you I would wait," Noah anger only increased. "Don't you _love me_ at all anymore?"

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't, Noah," Luke shouted back. "As soon as you were shot, I was on a plane. I was _butchered_ in the press but I kept my mouth shut because _I love you_ and that is what you wanted. I'm still here, Noah, trying to help you."

Noah froze for a few moments and took in what Luke had said. "You . . . still love me?"

"Did you think I could ever stop?" Luke realized that the time they had spent apart must have looked like he did not love Noah anymore.

Noah was surprised by Luke's declaration but he started pacing again. "I . . . I . . . " Tears started falling down his cheeks. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to yell but you have no idea. After everything I did, I didn't think you loved me anymore. I was so hurt and angry with myself, for what I caused, and at you, for not coming out. I buried my loneliness and frustration into my work because it was the only thing I could do. And then it happened . . . ," Noah looked directly at Luke. "He held me in that warehouse. He had completely gone off the deep end and I mean _completely_. He was getting ready to kill me, but I managed to escape." Noah paused as he continued to pace. "Then Maddie talked me into going to the Globes. He could have killed her or someone else. . . ."

Luke interrupted Noah's rant. "Noah, it's not your fault."

"What would have happened if . . . ," Noah didn't get a chance to finish because he stumbled over a paver and moved his already battered rib cage in the wrong way, making him scream out in pain.

Luke and Cyndi ran over and steadied him, only to have his towel fall off, giving her an eye full of his bulging speedo. They helped him walk back into the house and to his bedroom. He took a pain pill and crawled slowly into bed. He apologized to Cyndi and Luke before he fell asleep. Hershey laid down next to Noah's bed and refused to move when Cyndi and Luke left the room. Cyndi stayed a few hours to talk with Luke. Noah's speedo came up in their conversation.

-P-

With Cyndi's lukewarm attempt to help the boys failed, Lucinda showed up at the house the next day around lunchtime. It was a good start by Cyndi but Lucinda thought it should continue, fearing that a delay could ruin what had been gained. After being let into the house by Maddie, she changed into a pair of shorts and tank top and headed out to the pool where Luke and Noah were hanging out.

Noah quickly covered himself as he noticed Lucinda coming out of the house. He took one look at her in a tank top and finally figured out what was different about her. He leaned over and whispered to Luke. "When did she get _those things_?"

Lucinda, of course, heard him. "I got them four months ago. They still have a new car smell." Lucinda turned towards the chairs Luke and Noah were sitting in and lifted her top to show Noah. "Aren't they great?"

"What the hell!" Noah shouted as he closed eyes as quick as he could and covered them with his hands, just to be safe, as Lucinda flashed them.

Hershey put a paw over her eyes and started whimpering.

Unfortunately, Luke was used to this behavior by his grandmother and had his eyes shut as soon as she reached down for the bottom of her shirt. "Grandmother, you do not need to show us your new tits."

"I don't even need to wear a bra," Lucinda giggled like a teenager.

Noah opened his eyes, slightly, just in time to see them jiggle as she giggled at their reaction. He shut his eyes quickly again. "Put your shirt down, Lucinda." He felt some bile attempting to come up his esophagus. "Luke, you look and see if she lowered her shirt."

"Hell no!" Luke replied sternly. "I am a guest in your home. You look."

"She's your grandmother," complained Noah. "I think I'm going to spew!"

"Oh, you guys are no fun!" she huffed as she lowered her shirt.

Luke slowly opened his eyes. "I wish you would stop doing that. I _don't_ want to see them."

Lucinda laughed. "They aren't really mine, darling. Remember they removed all of my original tissue."

"It's still really wrong, Grandmother." He did not care if it was her tissue or not. It still grossed him out.

"Why did you get _them_?" Noah quickly asked.

"I'm old and _rich_. And I got tired of looking at my deformed chest from my mastectomy," Lucinda replied honestly.

"So you bought yourself some tits . . . err, breasts?" Noah felt weird discussing her implants.

"Please, a woman of my class has _bosoms_," Lucinda complained. "I'd have _tits_ if I worked the pole at a strip club."

Noah closed his eyes and started rubbing his temples, trying to shake the image of Lucinda with her leg wrapped around a pole, out of his mind. He could hear Luke snorting beside him.

"Why didn't you just buy an expensive sports car?" Luke whined. "We wouldn't have minded looking at that." Noah nodded his head in agreement.

Lucinda could only laugh. "I didn't mind it so much on my own but I have John in my life and I just didn't want to . . ." she paused, "well, I know it is vain but I went through hell during my cancer treatments and I didn't want to be reminded of the past anymore."

"I can understand that," Noah could see her point.

"But I'm still reminded every time I look at them. Distance and time doesn't make me forget," Lucinda's eyes shifted. "Like you two are when you look at each other. You are reminded of your not so glorious past."

"Oh great. You flash us, give us a picture of you _pole dancing_ and now you are Dr. Joyce Brothers . . . with new tits," Noah complained as he stood up slowly, and walked towards the bar, forgetting to cover himself. "Can this day get any worse? . . . I need a beer."

"Holy shit, darling," Lucinda gasped as she saw him stuffed into a speedo. "I didn't know you were packing so much."

"Grandmother!" Luke chastised.

To make matters worse, they could hear Maddie whistling and laughing from the house.

Noah grabbed his towel and wrapped it around his waist. Luke had never seen Noah's face so bright red before. He could not help but chuckle at Noah's predicament.

"Don't cover up on my account, darling," Lucinda scolded Noah. "Be proud of your body. It's certainly a hot one."

"Lucinda!" Noah yelped.

"I can certainly see why you had a hard time letting go of Noah, darling," Lucinda was still gawking at Noah.

"Grandmother, I do not want to sit here and watch you perv on my boyfriend," Luke huffed. It took him a few seconds to realize what he said. "Ex, I mean," he corrected himself.

Noah looked at Luke and tried to gauge what the slip of his tongue meant. Was it a good sign or was it just a slip? He finally started walking to the pool house to get his beer.

Luke got up and followed Noah. "I could use one too, Noah, but I'll take a bottle of water instead."

Noah pulled out a beer and a bottle of water out of his refrigerator. He handed the water to Luke.

Lucinda followed them to the pool house and sat down in one of the chairs at the bar. "Listen, I know you both love each other and your past is standing in your way. I get it. I could tell you stories about mine and John's relationships that would make your relationship look normal but we put all our mistakes aside. And when John and I wanted get intimate, I was a little scared because of my mastectomy. I did not feel like a whole woman but with these puppies . . . ," Lucinda put her hands in front of her breasts, ". . . I feel almost complete again. John said he did not care but I knew he was lying. He is a _man_ after all. I decided that I was not going to let it hinder my future anymore. You will have to let the past go, if you want to be together."

There was silence for a minute.

"Okay, I get it. If we have any chance on a future, we need to put our past in the past and move on," Luke understood what she was saying.

"But did you have to show us your tits though?" Noah saw Lucinda's expression change. "Sorry, bosoms."

"Darling, I'm going to give you a few days to figure this all out but then I'll be out here, sun bathing in the nude, until you both settle this," Lucinda replied defiantly.

"Oh, hell no!" Noah groaned.

"You underestimated my tenacity once before, darling," Lucinda warned.

Noah smiled when he remembered the last time Lucinda said that to him. "Okay, okay, I give up," his phone beeped and he took a quick look at it. "I have physical therapy soon. Luke and I will sit down, calmly, and discuss our past after we get back."

Lucinda was satisfied at the progress she made, as she watched Luke and Noah head for the house.


	6. Chapter 6

Noah's ribs were healing but with even with very little exertion, they would begin to ache. With his body slowly on the mend, Noah had gone back to work part-time. He would go to the studio a couple times a week for a few hours, but he mostly worked from home, video conferencing with the studio. They were in the process of editing his new movie when Noah was shot, so they picked up where they left off and Noah would watch the edited footage daily and make notes on what he saw, what he wanted changed and see in the next daily.

Luke was working daily, via video conference, with Lucinda, his secretary, and other department heads. Grimaldi's share of the Asian market was not as good as he liked, so he was meeting with shippers and with the representatives from shipping ports, trying to drum up some business and support. He was having some success but wanted more.

Hershey was growing like a weed. She now weighted forty-five pounds. She was still protective of Noah but now she was just as protective of Luke. She was well trained and did not need to be on a leash very often and once Noah got to therapy, Hershey would go around and say hello to everyone. She especially loved kids and the elderly but wherever she went, she was greeted with a smile and a few treats. Luke and Noah were so impressed with Hershey's performance, they talked about the foundation funding pet therapy, and assisted therapy animals to visit hospitals and shut-ins.

-P-

Luke and Noah had decided to spend Christmas in Oakdale. Emma cried the first time Noah walked into her kitchen. She remarked that he was too thin and how she needed to fatten him up. She had planned every meal, for the week they were there, to serve only his favorite foods. Noah did not have the heart to tell her, after all the trouble she went through, that everything she cooked was his favorite.

The kids and adults alike fell in love with Hershey at first sight and true to her species, she rolled in the first pile of fresh horse manure she found. Faith, Natalie and Ethan loved helping Luke give her a bath. Emma was not particularly thrilled when Hershey escaped from the bathroom and ran all over the house, dripping wet, with three drenched kids chasing after her like a Benny Hill skit. It made Noah laugh but he was too busy stuffing his face with cookies to really care.

The first thing Lily noticed was how much better Luke looked. He was clean-shaven and his hair was short, and the dark rings under his eyes were disappearing. Being with Noah had really helped him. He seemed, almost, back to normal. She also noticed how much closer Luke and Noah were, than the last time she saw them.

-P-

The day before Christmas Eve, Luke and Noah decided to take Hershey for a walk around Snyder pond. She had not had much exercise since they had gotten to Oakdale and was getting antsy. There was not any snow on the ground yet, although some was forecasted for overnight. As they walked around the pond, Hershey was running around like mad, sniffing everything in sight. Luke stopped and looked at the spot where they scattered Reid's ashes.

"Do you still miss him?" Noah asked cautiously. He wanted to know but he also did not want to know if the answer was yes.

They noticed Hershey's ears perk up and before Luke could respond, Hershey smelled around, squatted at the water's edge, and started peeing at the spot where Luke had the memorial for Reid.

"I swear to God, I didn't teach her to do that," Noah was scared to death he would get blamed but was rather surprised when Luke started to laugh.

"I could just hear him bitching about that," Luke spoke through the laughter.

"Get your damn dog off of me, Mayer. I'm a world renowned surgeon, not a fire hydrant," Noah laughed.

Luke smiled at Noah's joke and then got quiet. "I miss him sometimes but even when I was with him, the only thing I wanted was to be with you." Luke looked at Noah to see what his reaction would be.

"I'm glad." Noah smiled and stepped up to Luke. "I'm happier then I've been in years."

"You were shot, Noah," Luke rolled his eyes.

"Yes, but _you_ came back into my life. I'd go through it all over again, if the results were the same," Noah pulled Luke close to him, leaned down, and brought his lips to Luke's. The kiss started slowly, as if their lips were getting reacquainted, but soon their passion took over until Hershey started growling and barking at something on the other side of the pond. They looked down to see that the hair on her back was standing up and she was showing her teeth. Standing side-by-side, they both looked across the pond but could not see what caught Hershey's attention.

"It's probably a deer or something," Luke shrugged his shoulders. His attention turned back to Noah. "I've wanted you so many times, Noah. I just didn't know what to do."

"Likewise. I would dream such realistic dreams about you that I'd end up having to clean up my bed afterwards," Noah blushed at Luke's laughter.

"I know what you mean," Luke replied, his face displaying his own embarrassment.

Noah face filled with sadness. "I've missed you so much, Luke."

"I've been living in your house for almost four months now," Luke teased, with a large smile on his face.

"No, I mean this," Noah quickly kissed Luke again.

"Oh, you mean this?" Luke reached up and quickly kissed Noah.

"Yes," Noah took Luke's hand in his. "Come on, it's getting cold."

Luke smiled as they walked, hand-in-hand, the rest of the way around the pond. When they got back to the house, they helped Emma deliver Christmas presents for the church.

-P-

The next morning, when Luke and Noah opened the door at the bottom of the stairs, the conversation at the table stopped. They were a little late but nobody had started eating yet, Emma and Lily were just beginning to put food on the table.

Luke scanned the room and sat down in one of the two open chairs next to Lucinda. He wondered why everyone was smiling at them. "What's going on?" It was never a good sign when it was quiet at the Snyder farm.

Noah sat down next to Luke after he let Hershey out the door.

Everyone continued to smile at them.

"What?" Luke asked again as he picked up the orange juice container and poured himself and Noah a glass.

"Is there something you would like to share with us?" Holden inquired as he continued to smile.

Luke and Noah looked at each other with confused expressions on their faces. Luke stood up, let Hershey back into the house, and then sat down again as Noah answered the question. "No, I don't think so."

"There was something interesting in _The Intruder_ this morning," Holden smiled.

"What are you buying that rag for?" Luke was almost offended that his father had purchased that sleazy tabloid. Ever since Noah explained how they worked, he had a new found hatred for them.

Holden smiled and handed the paper to Luke. Luke was surprised by the main story, as was Noah, who was looking over his shoulder. On the front page was a picture of them kissing at the pond. "It's in the _Argus_ and _The City Times_ as well." There were also several pictures of them delivering presents at the church.

"Those bastards!" Luke fumed. "That's why Hershey was upset." Luke told them about Hershey growling. "They must have followed us as we walked around the pond."

Noah stood up and quickly walked upstairs and came back with his and Luke's iPads. He turned his on and brought up the _LA Times_ website. The front page story contained the same picture that was in the Intruder. "The _LA Times_ picked it up."

"TMZ has it as well," as Luke brought up sites on his iPad. "And ET."

"Great!" Noah complained.

Luke gave Noah a dirty look. He thought Noah was regretting the kiss.

"No, not that. I meant Jim will be calling us," Noah corrected. "He will want to release a statement."

Luke calmed down. "What do we say?"

Emma put the pancakes on the table and everyone started eating.

"Jim will say the truth," Noah just shrugged his shoulders. He looked at Emma. "But I think we should warn Emily that the next time her reporters are on private property, they will be arrested and the paper will be sued."

Emma agreed with Noah. "What is this world coming to when you can't walk around private property without someone taking your picture?"

"Unfortunately, Emma, it happens all the time in Hollywood," Noah replied sadly. "Even though I live in a gated community, I can't go outside my house without being followed."

"It's unacceptable," Lucinda added. "I can have one of my lawyer's write up something, if you want?"

"I would appreciate that, Lucinda," replied Emma. "Send a copy to Margo too." Lucinda agreed.

Lily was more interested in the content of the picture and not the photographer. "So, do you want to share anything with us?" The look on her face said to Luke that he better start talking, now, or else.

"We kissed at the pond yesterday," Luke replied to his mother's question.

"We figured that out by ourselves," Faith rolled her eyes.

"We are taking things one day at a time. This kiss was the first," Noah pointed at their picture in the paper. "Between physical therapy, going back to work part-time and Luke's meetings, trying to find office space, and working on a new project for the foundation, we haven't had that much time to really talk a lot."

"We have already talked out the basics and decided to see where things take us."

"So you are dating?" Natalie asked.

"Not sure you would call it dating exactly. We are getting reacquainted. Learning to communicate better. I think dating would be the next step," Luke replied. Noah agreed.

"Yucky," Ethan said between bites of his breakfast. Dating was a concept Ethan just did not like. Everyone laughed at the innocent comment.

"Are you are going to stay in Los Angeles, Luke?" Emma asked after taking a sip of coffee.

Luke looked at Noah with a smile. "Yes. We still have a lot to work out but we are committed to working it out, together."

The family was satisfied with the progress Luke and Noah were making in repairing their relationship but Lily was still concerned since she did not see much of the sparkle his eyes used to have when he was with Noah before. As soon as breakfast was over, Noah's cellphone rang. He was not surprised to find it was Jim.

-P-

Noah's cellphone woke him up early on Christmas morning. He moaned as he looked at the screen to see who was calling him. "Merry Christmas, Casey."

"I need to bring them over now or it may never happen today," Casey quickly said.

"Why?" Noah was curious to know why there was such a rush.

"Have you looked outside? It's snowing like mad."

"No, you woke me up. As long as you can make it over safely, I'll be up."

"I have a four-wheel drive Tahoe, so I'll be fine. The whole family is helping out at the soup kitchen this morning, so we needed to be up anyway," Casey explained.

"Cool. I will see you when you get here then. Be careful," Noah warned.

"Are you kidding. Ali will be telling me that I'm driving too fast," Casey laughed as he hung up.

Noah got up and noticed Hershey was not in his room. "Some watchdog," he laughed to himself. He threw on his clothes from the day before and gingerly walked towards the kitchen. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he turned on the light and headed right over to the coffee pot. As Noah watched the coffee drip into the decanter, he heard someone come downstairs. The door opened and he saw Luke at the bottom of the stairs, yawning.

Noah walked over to Luke and pulled him into a hug. "Merry Christmas, Luke."

"You too," Luke groaned. It was just too early to be excited about anything, without two cups of coffee.

Noah looked up and found himself and Luke under the mistletoe. "Look up."

Luke's eyes darted to where Noah was pointing with a smile, when he saw the mistletoe above him.

"Since we seem to be in some type of a time warp," Noah laughed, "I'll take the opportunity to tell you how much I love you."

Luke yawned as he looked at Noah. "Umm, can it wait till after I have some coffee?"

Nobody heard Holden walk down the stairs. "What a thing to tell someone on Christmas day, Luke."

Noah could not help but laugh. He knew Luke was tired since they had gone to bed late. He turned, walked over, and grabbed the coffee decanter. "I'm used to it by now, Holden."

"What are you doing up?" Luke pulled three cups out of the cabinet and put them down on the counter. He could not believe anyone would willingly be up at this hour.

"Casey called. He's bringing over our surprise guests now."

It took Luke a moment to figure out who Casey was and what he was bringing over. "Why didn't you wake me?"

"I didn't want to wake up Hershey."

"She's not in my room," Luke was rather annoyed that Noah was more concerned about Hershey getting a good night's sleep. "I take it she's not in yours either?"

"When I checked on Ethan, I saw two lumps under his blankets," Holden laughed.

"It must be something bred into you Snyders," Noah replied in a semi-playful disgust. "See what you started."

"I told you before that I was sorry," Luke replied. He turned to his father. "I let Hershey sleep with me when Noah was in the hospital and now she's into the habit of jumping on our beds."

"You mean yours, because I don't let her in mine. What's going to happen when we start sleeping in the same bed again?" Noah offered up the question. "My bed isn't big enough for the three of us."

Luke and Holden took notice to what Noah had said but Ali and Casey knocking at kitchen door interrupted their thoughts. Noah walked over and let them in. They exchanged Christmas greetings as Casey put the basket he was holding on the counter. As soon as the basket was down, three little heads popped up.

"They are so cute," Holden walked up and started to scratch their heads.

"Yeah, I wish we could keep them but not in our apartment," Ali frowned. She wished they could get a dog but as busy as they were, it would not be a wise choice.

"Don't forget they will grow into big dogs," Casey reminded Ali.

"Yes, but they behave better than you do," laughed Ali. Casey gave Ali one of his trademarked grins as everyone laughed.

"Well, I hope the family wants them," Luke sounded a bit worried. Puppies were not a good thing to spring on someone but he was sure there would not be an issue. If there was, they had a backup plan.

"Well, I know two people will. Not so sure about the third," Holden announced.

Luke and Noah had talked to Lily, Holden, and John before they decided to get the dogs. All three thought it would be a great idea.

"Lucinda loves Hershey. Well, now that Hershey isn't knocking her into the pool," Noah laughed. "I'm sure she will love one of her own. If not, we can make other arrangements."

"I would have_ loved_ to have seen that," Casey laughed at the thought of Hershey knocking Lucinda into the pool. "Well, I bet all of Oakdale would have."

"It was the best thing my eyes have ever seen," Holden laughed. "But I'll deny saying so, if it gets back to Lucinda."

"Well, I hate to cut this short, but we need to get going before the snow gets worse."

"And we need to get out to the barn, before we are out there all day," Holden warned.

They all said goodbye but not before Ali gave the puppy's one last kiss and hug. Noah followed them out, grabbing the supplies out of Casey's car, and brought them into the house, while Luke and Holden headed out to the barn. Noah felt guilty for not helping them out but his ribs were still healing.

Noah took the basket up to his room, put it behind his bed, and walked back out, shutting the door behind him. Hershey walked out of Ethan's room, stretching and yawning, before she ran up to Noah, who had knelt down, and she gave him a few licks around his face, as Noah praised her. Hershey was anxious to go to the bathroom, so Noah grabbed his jacket, gloves, and a hat, since he decided to go outside with her. She had never seen snow, so he thought it might be fun to see her react to it. As soon as the door opened, Hershey stopped, put her nose to the ground, and gave the snow a good sniff. Noah laughed as she lifted her head and shook it. She must have sniffed some snow up her nose. He could only imagine how the cold snow felt melting in her nose.

"Come on girl," Noah shoved her out enough to close the door behind him. He grabbed the broom and swept off the steps. There was only a few inches of snow on the ground.

The call of nature soon had Hershey in the middle of the lawn, doing her business. When she was done, Noah threw her a few snowballs as she rolled around in the snow. He went in, picked up an orange football from the toys they brought, and played catch with her but it was not long before his ribs were bothering him, so they both went inside. Hershey ran into the kitchen after Noah dried her off, drank some water from her bowl, and disappeared. Noah knew she was going back to Ethan's room. He went around the house, turning on all the Christmas lights and laid down on the couch after taking some aspirin. His mind went back to the three puppies they picked out the day before while Christmas shopping. Luke wanted to bring them all home but they had agreed, beforehand, that three were enough for now. Noah picked out the three that reminded him of Hershey when she was that small. Ali and Casey agreed to board them until Christmas morning, so they could surprise everyone. Noah's eyes closed as his mind drifted off into dreamland.

-P-

The next thing Noah heard were the voices of people filling up the living room. He kept his eyes shut but felt a wet tongue swipe across his face. "Luke, stop that!" He pushed Hershey way from his face.

"That's so funny," Luke faked a laugh. The rest of the family found it funny.

Noah slowly sat up to make room for others to sit on the couch. He noticed Lucinda and John had also gotten to the house. Once everyone sat down, they exchanged gifts.

-P-

After all the gifts were opened, Luke spoke up. "When Noah would go to physical therapy or to a doctor's appointment, Hershey would always demand to go, so she could protect Noah." Luke smiled as Hershey walked over Lucinda and leaned against her legs. "When Hershey got to therapy, she would walk around to the other patients while keeping an eye on Noah and if only for just a moment, they seemed to forget their pain and frustration. That got us thinking that we could do something at the foundation."

Everyone watched Noah walk out of the room.

"We talked to Noah's doctors, Susan Stewart and John and they all thought it was a great idea. They know from firsthand experience how calming a pet can be for patients. "In fact, Susan, being the chief of staff, has agreed to let us start a small program at Memorial, as a study, to see if it would be a worthwhile program to fund".

"I think it will be," John added as he scratched behind Hershey's ears. "The benefits have been well studied that animals can help lower blood pressure and can bring out emotional responses from children with autism and attention deficit disorders."

"I am a board member of the hospital, why didn't I know about this?" Lucinda asked.

Noah walked in with the basket before Lucinda's question could be answered. He put it down near the tree and everyone watched as three little puppy heads, with bows around their necks, popped up out of the basket. Hershey, who was leaning against Lucinda's legs, darted over to the basket to sniff the puppies.

"Oh, how cute are they," Emma's eyes were shinning. She just loved puppies.

The puppies were handed around for everyone to hold for a minute before they all ended up on the floor. Hershey, acting like a mom, started licking them.

"So who are the suckers who get to watch the puppies?" Lucinda had already figured it out.

"Well, since they are staying here in Oakdale, we will have to have someone here watch them," Luke looked around the room.

Ethan looked like he was ready to explode. "I can watch the puppies, Luke!"

Lily and Holden looked at each other and grimaced. They figured this was coming. Hershey, who was listening to the conversation, picked up the chocolate colored puppy, who was named Coco, by the back of her neck, and walked over to Ethan and put the puppy in his lap. Everyone was surprised by her actions. Hershey picked up the black puppy, who was named Pepper, walked over to Emma, and placed it in her lap. They all watched in silence as Hershey took the white puppy, whose name was Sugar, over to Lucinda and placed it in her lap. The last thing Hershey did was walk over to Noah and laid down at his feet.

"Um . . . that's what we were thinking," Luke said with surprise.

Ethan stopped smothering the puppy long enough put it on his lap and lifted her hind leg. "It's a girl," Ethan said sadly.

Luke could not help but chuckle at his little brother. "Her name is Coco, Ethan. They are all girls."

"You want _me_ to raise a puppy?" Surprise would be an understatement for Lucinda.

"Her name is Sugar. We know you love Hershey, Lucinda," Noah started laughing. "Well, since she stopped pushing you into the pool." Everyone in the room started laughing.

"I would have loved to have seen that," John laughed. Lucinda gave him a dirty look.

"If you don't want to raise her, we can find someone else," replied Noah.

"Grandmother, the foundation will pay for training of the dog, vet bills, and the basic dietary needs for the dogs. You just need to love her," Luke gave her the big sell.

Noah reached into the basket and pulled out three collars. He gave a tan collar to Ethan, a pink collar to Emma and a pink collar with synthetic pink diamonds on it, to Lucinda. They figured a little bling would go a long way to making the dog cute for Lucinda.

Lucinda's eyes softened as she put the collar around Sugar's neck. "Doesn't she look darling with it on?" Noah and Luke looked at each other with success written on their faces. John knew ahead of time that they were going to get a puppy. He loved dogs, even ones with a pink diamond collar.

"Emma, do you mind raising Pepper?" Noah asked.

"Oh, what a cute name for such a beautiful girl," Emma cooed as she let Pepper lick her face. "No, I don't mind but I'm sure everyone in the house will help. Harvey and I had a black dog. What was her name Holden?"

"Wasn't it Raven?" Holden replied.

"Oh, that's right."

"She was a good dog. Very loyal," Holden smiled as he remembered.

-P-

"Why don't you guys take the puppies out into the kitchen and get them some water. We should take them outside soon, so they can go to the bathroom," Noah said.

Ethan stood up with his puppy. Natalie and Faith grabbed the other two puppies and ran out into the kitchen, followed by Hershey. When they were out of the room, Noah looked at Lucinda with a smirk on his face. "By the way Lucinda, Luke and I almost named Sugar, bosom, since she has new puppy smell," Noah wiggled his eyebrows.

Luke laughed and added to the fun. "She doesn't require a bra either, only a collar."

"Just like Lucinda," John smirked.

"You little bastards!" Lucinda growled. "I'll get you back for that."

"Hey, we are just getting you back for flashing us," Luke admitted.

"Mother, you didn't?" Lily looked in horror.

"Well, Noah asked . . . ," Lucinda defended herself, ". . . so I showed him."

John started laughing. Just when he thought he saw it all, his wife never ceased to surprise him.

Emma got up. "I need to start breakfast." It was her excuse to get away from the upcoming discussion.

"I need to help the kids with the puppies," Holden saw it as his perfect escape from the conversation taking place.

"In my defense, that was the day I got them to sit down and talk," Lucinda smiled.

"She threatened to sunbathe nude," Luke added.

"Mother!" Lily chastised again.

"But I didn't. It was only a ploy to get them to talk," Lucinda tried to fix the situation she was in.

"You mean a threat?" Luke laughed.

Everyone in the living room laughed, except for Lucinda. She was already plotting revenge but she did not have to wait too long to spring it on them. She reached into a large bag that she brought with her, and pulled out a wrapped present. "I bought this for you, before things got bad between you two and never had a chance to give it to you."

Luke took the present and opened it. As soon as he saw the title, his face turned red.

"What is it?" Lily asked cautiously, after seeing Luke blush.

"It's _The Gay Man's Kama Sutra_," Luke was wishing that he could disappear from all the embarrassment he felt.

"Mother!" Lily was horrified.

"Oh, Lily, lighten up," Lucinda waved at her daughter.

Noah laughed but took the book and started flipping through it. "We've done this one."

Lucinda got up from the couch she was sitting on and moved over next to Noah. She took a quick look at the book. "The butterfly, that's a good one, darling." Noah looked at her strangely. "The straight version, anyway."

Lily's face turned as red as Luke's. She got up off the couch and walked out into the kitchen, without saying a word.

"Lucinda wants to do _The Monkey_, but I don't think we could manage that at our ages," John added.

Noah flipped to the directory, looked up the page number, and opened the book to the page. "Yeah, that might be rough for you. When we get to the point of having sex again, we should try it," Noah laughed.

Luke was freaking out. He grabbed the book out of Noah's hand and sat on it.

"What are you doing?" Noah asked.

Holden walked through the door.

"I'm not going to discuss sexual positions with my grandmother," Luke complained. "I'll think of her and John doing it and I won't be able to do it myself." He looked like he was going to faint.

As soon as Holden heard what Luke said, he quickly turned around and walked back out of the room. John, Lucinda, and Noah laughed. Luke was too nauseated to have noticed.

"How did I raise such prudes?" Lucinda laughed as she looked at everyone. "A good sex life is one essential part to a healthy relationship."

"I know. My kids are the same way," John laughed. "I think Margo would have a heart attack."

Noah grabbed Luke's hand and stood up. He did not want to scare Luke away from trying out any new sexual position. "I think we should check on the puppies now." Luke gave Noah a grateful look. They both got up and walked out the door.


	7. Chapter 7

"We can confirm that Noah Mayer, who is nominated for best director, will be attending the awards ceremony tonight," a reporter for Entertainment Tonight announced. "He should be getting out of his limousine shortly. There was some question if he would come, after what happened at the_ Golden Globes_." She continued to recall what had taken place at the Globes but she stopped abruptly. "Wait, I am getting information that Luke Snyder will be his date for tonight. Noah Mayer has gone from virtually unknown a few years ago, to being one of the most talked about celebrities in Hollywood and one of the most eligible bachelors but if our information is correct, he may be off the market."

"Our sources tell us that Luke had moved in with Noah to help in his recovery, but it seems the ex-lovers have rekindled their romance. Pictures surfaced of them kissing in Oakdale, Illinois at Luke's grandmother's house, over Christmas. In recent days, they have been seen holding hands and kissing."

"Are you ready for this?" Luke was concerned for Noah.

"No, but since we are a few minutes from getting out of the car, I better be," Noah was nervous.

"Just remember that they've added extra security for us but I really doubt we will need it," Luke knew the colonel would not be an issue in their lives anymore. "They even invited Hershey."

"Yeah, the skit will be funny but I'd rather be at the house with your family," Noah was happy they had come out to LA for the awards show to offer their moral support.

"You sir, better get used to these shows," Luke said knowingly. Noah gave him a strange look. "I've seen the scenes you are putting together. You will be here next year for that movie."

He gave Luke a kiss on the cheek. "The last show I was at, I ended up leaving in an ambulance." He jokingly tried to say. "I wish Hershey was here." He knew she could keep him calm.

"What do you need her for? You have me and I won't leave hair on your tuxedo!" Luke replied calmly as Noah began to laugh. "You will be seeing her soon."

The limousine door opened. Noah put on his new sunglasses and stepped out of the vehicle, to be greeted by the many flash bulbs going off, that almost made it seem like it was high noon and not early evening. Noah turned to his side and moved his hand for Luke to take. Luke stepped out of the limo to the blinding light of the camera flashes but he looked around with a bright smile, as Jim had taught him.

"Noah Mayer just stepped out of his limousine. He is certainly one attractive man in that tuxedo. He is wearing sunglasses because of his sensitive eyes. If you remember, Noah was blind for a while after an accident on the set of a movie he did in college," a reporter for Entertainment Tonight said. "Luke Snyder just stepped out of the limousine. Luke is the grandson of legendary businesswoman, Lucinda Walsh. Luke is looking quite dapper himself. We know from a photo of them kissing over Christmas, that they seem to have rekindled their romance, but one has to wonder what their relationship is now. The only answer to our repeated questions was _no comment_."

Noah leaned over and whispered into Luke's ear. "Would you like to be front page news tomorrow morning?"

"Sure," Luke whispered back. He had a good idea what Noah was planning.

Noah moved close to Luke. He put his mouth to Luke's and they began to kiss. The light of the flashbulbs only increased. The crowd quieted down when the kiss started but soon the loud cheer erupted. Most of the interviews conducted of the celebrities had stopped, due to the ruckus fans were making. They broke the kiss and just stared into each other eyes for a few moments before they started their trip, hand-in-hand, down the red carpet.

"Well, look at that," a reporter for Access Hollywood commented as she watched Luke and Noah kiss. "It seems to me, by the look they gave each other after that long kiss, is that their relationship has definitely rekindled."

At Noah's house, Luke's family was watching the show in Noah's theater room, when they saw Noah pull Luke into a kiss in front of all the photographers.

Tears fell from Lily's eyes as she touched Holden's arm. She saw the loving long look they gave each other. "That's what I've been waiting to see . . . that look. They will be okay now." Holden just smiled as he stared at the screen.

"Please welcome Noah Mayer and Hershey Mayer," the announcer said.

Noah and Hershey walked on stage and up to the microphone. Hershey sat next to Noah. "Yes, those are real diamonds from Harry Winston around her neck."

As the women in the audience were _oohing_, Hershey stuck out her tongue at them.

"Hershey, stop that," Noah laughed. "Is it strange that my dog has more security than I do?" The audience roared with laughter.

"Hershey is a working girl. She works for the Luke Snyder Foundation as its very first therapy dog. As a therapy dog, she will visit patients at health care facilities, nursing homes, orphanages, and hospitals, to provide some much needed distraction for the patients," the audience clapped.

"Hershey and I have a public service announcement from the Academy," Noah paused. "If at any time there is an emergency in the theater," Noah paused for the laughter. "Please do not hide behind a higher-paid entertainer than yourself and use them as a shield." Hershey walked behind Noah, stuck her head through his legs, and looked from side to side. Noah paused again because of the laughter. "You are requested to walk to your nearest exit, calmly." Hershey ran in a circle around Noah and then ran off stage, yelping. Noah paused for more laughter and waited for Hershey walked back onstage. "This concludes our public service announcement, thank you." Hershey bowed a few times and then walked off the stage with Noah.

Noah held his breath as the envelope was opened. The Oscars was something he always dreamed about and now, with Luke by his side, it could come true. His name was read aloud. Luke wrapped his arms around him but he just sat there, stunned. Luke had to coax him into standing before he came back to reality. He gave Luke a big kiss and started to walk to the stage. Hershey broke away from Jim and rushed out onto the stage to celebrate with her master.

Handpicked police officers took up key areas around the stage, to prevent any trouble. Hershey stayed on stage and by Noah's side to make sure he was safe.

Everyone at Noah's house erupted into cheers, as did all their friends back home in Oakdale. Behind the cheers, was a layer of fear that something would happen again.

Noah stepped up to the microphone with the Oscar statue in his hand. Noah first thanked everyone from his acceptance speech from the Globes. "I never thought I would win one of these. I was never given any encouragement from my . . . um . . . at home. I was told it was a waste of time. I worked all summer, flipping burgers the year before I graduated high school, to buy my first video camera." Noah saw Luke smile. "It wasn't until I got to Oakdale, until Luke and his family took me seriously and encouraged me to reach for my dreams. I would like to thank my family, the Snyders. Thank you for coming back into my life when I needed it the most. Ethan, you're still not in bed, are you?" The audience laughed. "Most of all, I would like to thank the love of my life, Luke. Your love completes me and makes me a better person. Thank you very much." Noah walked off the stage to the waiting press core.

Luke was stunned by Noah's comments about him.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Rating: NC-17 (Sexual Situations – gay sex, Adult language)

-P-

It had been several weeks since the Oscar night ceremony and all of Noah's time had been spent working, physical therapy or talking to the press. Every entertainment reporter in the press wanted to interview Noah.

Late one evening, when everything had finally settled down, Luke watched as Noah walked out of the house with his red speedo on and a towel over his shoulder. His body was still muscular, even though his only real exercise occurred in physical therapy or the little bit of swimming he could do.

Luke decided it was time for him to join Noah in the pool. He stopped what he was doing and ran to his bedroom quickly, to change. He turned off some of the outdoor lighting, to make it more romantic and walked out of the house, into the back yard with a towel wrapped around his waist, and walked right up to the edge of the pool.

Noah had just finished swimming a few laps. He stopped where Luke was standing. "You coming in?"

"Of course," Luke replied. He took off his towel and dropped it on the ground, along with a bottle of lube. There was no need for a condom, since they both had been tested after they had gotten back from spending Christmas with the family.

Noah's eyes opened wide at the sight of Luke's naked body in front of him. "Wow," he breathed out.

Luke dove into the pool, surfaced and swam back to Noah. Noah was still stunned. Luke stood a few inches from Noah and whispered. "I think you are wearing too much." He reached over, grasped the speedo, and pulled it down. He was not surprised when Noah's erection slapped him in the arm, as it broke free from the tight confinement. Luke wrapped his fingers around Noah's cock.

Noah moaned. "How I missed you doing that."

"I missed doing it," Luke hissed.

Noah reached his hand under the water, grabbed a hold of Luke's cock, and started slowly stroking it. He leaned down and kissed Luke. It felt like home to Noah. He had missed it. After a few minutes, Noah wanted more. "Let's get out of the water, Luke."

Luke took Noah's hand and they walked out of the water and onto the patio. Noah picked up the towel and the lube as they walked over to the deck lounge chair. He laid Luke on the lounger, got on his knees, and took Luke into his mouth.

"Oh God," Luke moaned. It had been a long time since someone did that to him and that someone was Noah. He could feel Noah's fingers slip into his ass. "That's it, Noah!" Luke moaned again.

Tears filled Noah's eyes as he engulfed Luke's cock. "Hmmm," he hummed. It felt so good to have Luke in his mouth again. He was hard as a rock and even though nothing was touching his dick, it felt like he was ready to shoot at any second. As he sucked off Luke, he took the lube that Luke had brought out with him, put some on his fingers, and then started probing Luke's ass, trying to loosen him up. One finger led to two. His long fingers rubbed along Luke's prostate, which sent shivers through Luke's body.

Sex with Noah was well, an out of body experience for Luke. Noah was his only lover but he did give and receive head a few times, when he was drunk, but it was Noah, who had the ability to set off every nerve ending in his body.

Noah had three lovers in his life. There was a girl in high school that he lost his virginity to, Maddie and then Luke. It was Luke, who he craved, who he wanted to be with and who completed him in every way.

Noah redrew his fingers from Luke's anus and moved his mouth from his cock, over the balls, down the perineum to his ass. Noah spent only a few minutes there before Luke had enough.

"I need you in me, Noah," Luke begged. "Please fuck me!"

Noah's cock began to enter Luke's body. As it sank deeper and deeper, Luke felt fulfilled in that moment in time. This is what had been missing from his life. Not just Noah's cock but Noah himself. He knew in that moment, in his soul, that he was supposed to be with Noah. He was complete when he was with Noah.

Noah remembered exactly everything that Luke used to like during sex. It came back to him in an instant but he became concerned when he noticed tears falling from Luke's eyes. "What's wrong, Luke? I'm not hurting you, am I?"

Luke could only shake his head. He was too emotional to reply. He could feel Noah begin to pull out but Luke stopped him. "You fulfill me, Noah," he was finally able to mutter.

"You fulfill me too, Luke," Noah replied as he pushed all the way in.

Luke gasped. It had been so long since Noah had taken him and he knew it was going to be a special night. As Noah started to pull out, Luke could feel all his nerve endings shooting through his body. The pleasure was off the chart as the large shaft and head slid across his prostate, causing Luke's eyes to roll back. Noah stopped suddenly but before Luke could catch his breath, Noah shoved himself back, fully, into Luke. All Luke could do was moan like a whore during fleet week. For the next twenty minutes, Noah kept Luke at a sexual high. The pain from Luke's swollen and battered anus only added more pleasure.

Noah kept up fucking Luke for as long as he could. His rib cage was beginning to hurt but he kept up the pace. The tightness of Luke's ass was giving him so much stimulation that he was afraid of cumming too quickly. He had slowed or stopped more than a few times, in order to keep himself or Luke from cumming. He wanted this copulation to last as long as it could. He could tell that Luke was enjoying it and he certainly was. He felt whole, when he was pleasuring Luke. But the pain of his rib cage was starting to overcome his own sexual high. He sped up taking quick jabs, mixed with slow, sensual, entries and withdrawals that gave way to long quick movements, which were meant to bring on an orgasm.

Luke could feel it coming. "I'm going to cum, Noah, I'm going to cum," shouted Luke.

Noah could feel Luke's sphincter getting tighter and tighter around his cock as Luke got closer and closer to cumming. Noah, even though he was in a lot of pain, continued to fuck Luke.

Luke's body began to thrash with such force that Noah could barely hold Luke down and then it happened. Luke began to shout as every nerve fiber in his body seemingly tried to send an impulse to the pleasure center brain and overloaded it, causing Luke to shoot his load, stream after stream, all over his and Noah's body. Each shot caused Luke pain but it was a pleasurable pain.

Noah could feel Luke's sphincter clamp down on his cock as Luke began to cum. He felt shot after shot hit him in his mid-section and the scalding semen almost seemed to burn his skin. His own body began to tremble as he began to shoot his own semen into Luke's body. The hot scalding liquid made Luke's body feel like a pressure cooker, which added to his own release. He never thought they would stop cumming.

They both began to cry as their orgasms subsided. Not only from physical release but also an emotional release. Noah collapsed on top of Luke. His ribs were throbbing in pain, but he did not care. He just had the best sex, no, best love making session of his life, with the man he loved. After several minutes of trying to come to his senses, something in his brain forced Noah to speak. "Marry me, Luke."

Luke's body stiffened up as soon as he heard what Noah had said. "What?"

"Marry me!" Noah repeated himself.

Luke softly gazed at Noah. His heart accepted what Noah had said. He wanted to say yes so badly but his brain stopped him. "There is nothing more that I want than to marry you but it's too soon."

"I'm never leaving, Luke, _never_," Noah cried out, as his eyes linked with Luke's. "No matter what happens in our lives, you are stuck with me, _forever_!"

Luke could see in Noah's eyes that he meant every word he was saying. He really wanted to believe him. It was all he ever wanted but his breathing turned shallow and panic overtook him. He pushed Noah off of him, jumped up, ran into the house and into his bathroom. He took a washcloth and cleaned himself up. He ran back into his bedroom and began to dress quickly.

Noah stood up and ran after Luke. When he got to Luke's bedroom, he saw Luke dressing. "No, Luke, don't leave."

"You're going to fuck with me again," Luke's panic only increased by Noah's presence. "You will do it to me again."

Noah carefully wrapped his arms around Luke's chest to try to calm him down. He could feel Luke's heart pounding. "No, Luke, I won't. I promise."

Out of pure reaction, Luke rammed his elbow into Noah's rib cage. "Don't touch me," Luke yelled. The hit sent Noah crashing against the wall. Noah shouted out in pain as he sank to the floor. The next thing Luke saw was Hershey's big teeth in front of his face. A different kind of fear took over his body. Luke was lying on his back with a sixty-pound dog over his body, which was ready to rip his face off.

Noah's vision began to clear when he saw Hershey standing astride of Luke. The hair on her back was standing straight up. She was growling and baring all of her teeth at Luke, who was underneath her, with the palest face Noah had ever seen on Luke. "Hershey, heel!" Noah shouted. Hershey did not move. She continued to growl at Luke. Noah moved as quickly as he could over to Luke and pulled her off of him. "Stop it. Hershey, heel!" Noah yelled.

As soon as Hershey was off his body, Luke got up, grabbed his bag, and ran out the door.

"LUKE!" Noah yelled. "STOP, LUKE!" Noah could hear the front door slam. He knew Luke was gone. Darkness overtook him as the pain in his chest became too overwhelming.


	9. Chapter 9

Noah awoke with an EMT was standing over him, after having shoved a smelling salt up his nose. "What happened?" he pulled the smelling salt from his nose.

"We found you passed out and couldn't wake you up, so we called a paramedic," Noah recognized the voice as one of the security guards.

Noah was still trying to figure out what had happened. "How did you find me?"

"Security noticed a look of panic on Mr. Snyder's face as he raced through the guard post," a police officer replied. "They tried to call your cellphone, without any success. They were worried that something happened."

"I moved the wrong way or something and pain was so intense from my ribs that I must have blacked out," Noah quickly stated. He did not want the police to get the wrong idea.

"Are you sure that's all that happened?" the policeman asked cautiously.

"Positive. Luke did not do anything to me. My ribs are still very tender. I over exerted myself earlier and I'm paying for it now," he did not want to share anything personal with the policemen. "Honestly, there isn't much else to tell, I swear."

The EMT felt around Noah's rib cage but stopped when Noah flinched and moaned out in pain. The EMT looked at the police officer, shaking his head that Noah was telling the truth.

"Miss Coleman came home as we were trying to gain access. She had to take the dog so we could get close to you. She's a real good watch dog," the officer continued. "We will need to talk to Mr. Snyder and get a statement from him."

"Security personnel found Noah Mayer passed out in his home today. Our sources tell us that Noah passed out because of severe pain in his chest. Noah is still recovering from being beaten and shot by his father. We believe there is more to the story since Noah's companion, Luke Snyder, was seen racing away from the house, minutes before security found him," the reporter announced.

The next morning, Noah's rental car pulled into the farm's driveway. He had called Lily, after the police left, to tell her what had happened and to watch out for Luke. Ethan and Natalie were making a snowman when Noah arrived. They walked over and hugged Noah quickly before Noah walked into the house. He walked to the parlor door as he heard Luke talking. Hershey stayed out to play with the kids and the puppies.

"We were laying there on the side of the pool when Noah asked me a question. I don't remember anything else until I was landing at the Oakdale airport," exclaimed a frustrated Luke.

"You had some type of panic attack," Noah replied.

Luke looked at Noah with fear in his eyes. "Noah!" He knew he did something bad but he was not sure what.

"Luke started having panic attacks after you left," Lily added.

Noah looked around the room. He saw Jack, sitting next to Luke, holding a tape recorder. The Los Angeles police department must have asked him to talk to Luke. "Can you turn that off for a while, Jack?" Jack complied. Noah walked directly up to Luke and knelt in front of him. "Do you remember the question I asked you?"

Luke thought for a few moments and nodded. "We had just finished having sex when you asked me to marry you." Gasps filled the room. Luke had left that out of his earlier explanation.

"Sex? You mean out of this world sex. The best sex you've ever had," Noah tried to lighten up the situation. He began stroking Luke's face. "You freaked out when I told you that I was never going to leave again. You got up and ran into the house. You said something about me fucking with you. I tried to calm you down and that's when you elbowed me in the ribs." Luke gasped and his eyes filled with tears. He was horrified at what Noah was telling him. "When my eyes cleared, I was on the floor. Hershey was on top of you and she was pissed. It was like the pond over Christmas. The fur on her back was standing up and you could see all her teeth."

"I think I might remember that part," Luke replied quietly.

"I've never seen her so upset before," Noah was still surprised by the scene running through his head. "Anyway, I pulled her off of you. You got up and ran off. I must have blacked out until the paramedics put smelling salt up my nose." Noah had a sour look on his face. "That stuff is horrible. I can still smell it." He chuckled as he waved his hand in front of his nose.

Luke leaned forward and put his forehead on Noah's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Noah."

"Don't worry about it."

"That's different than what I was told. Why didn't you tell that to the police?" Jack looked at Noah strangely.

"It would have been leaked to the press that Luke assaulted me or one of us raped the other. You know how the press manipulates situations. Look how they treated him after I was shot. I wanted to protect, Luke," Noah defiantly replied.

"Since nothing really happened, can't we bend the truth a little, Jack?" asked Holden.

"Okay, this time, but let's not make a habit out of it," Jack realized what Noah had said was true. "Don't tell anyone outside this room what really happened."

"One more thing did happen, Jack," Noah smiled at Jack. "I didn't get to tell you how great the sex was."

"That's okay, Noah," laughed Jack.

"It was the best sex I've ever had in my life. Luke came out of the house in only a towel and guess what was under it?" Noah said with a big smile.

"Honestly, you don't need to share that with me," Jack did not want to know these details.

"Oh come on Jack, I know you are dying to know," laughed Noah. He pointed to Luke. Luke was laughing into Noah's shoulder. He knew Luke needed a good laugh. "Besides, it if does leak, maybe something good should be in the report," Noah complained.

Luke knew Noah was right. "I'm so sorry, Noah. I'll understand if you . . . ."

Noah interrupted Luke. "I came to find you, to be with you, Luke. I learned the hard way, over five years ago, what will happen if I pull away. I won't _ever_ take a chance on losing you again."

Luke carefully pulled Noah into a hug and started crying. When his mind was more clear, he whispered into Noah's ear. "Ask me that question again sometime."

"I'll do that!" Noah whispered back and then kissed Luke. With everything that happened, Noah had to agree that it was too soon for them to be thinking about getting married. They both had some demons to exorcise first.

"Darlings, did you try _The Monkey_?" Lucinda asked with a smile.

Luke started giggling again in Noah's shoulder. "Grandmother!"

"The Monkey?" Jack had a big confused look on his face. "What monkey?"

"No, we didn't try _that_ position, Lucinda," Noah answered.

"Oh!" Jack's face turned red. "_That_ monkey." A fresh round of laughter filled the room.

A few minutes later, the puppies came running into the room with Hershey behind them as Luke and Noah kissed. She stopped and scoped out the situation. Seeing no danger to her master, she ran over, jumped on top of Jack, who was sitting next to Luke, and started to lick the sides of both Luke and Noah's faces as they kissed. All was forgiven.

_A month later._

"Hello mom," Luke said as he answered his ringing cellphone.

"Well hello there stranger," Lily replied. "It's been a while since you called last."

"Sorry about that. It has been busy here," Luke let out a huge breath. "I didn't get any sleep last night and I have an important meeting in an hour."

"Why didn't you get any sleep?"

"There was a storm last night and Hershey jumped into _bed with us_. She trembled and whimpered all night," Luke rambled without thinking.

Lily was surprised to hear her son tell her that he was now sleeping in the same bed as Noah. "So things are better with you and Noah?"

"Sure," Luke did not want to give too much information, not having realized what he had already shared. "We are taking things one day at a time and we are officially dating, now, I think you could say."

"That's great honey," Lily was excited that things were progressing along but she was still concerned that things would spiral out of control again. She had a feeling everything would work out since they seemed to be communicating better. "I'll let you get to your meeting, but you could call me a little more often, you know."

"Okay, okay, I'll call you after the meeting to catch up," Luke knew that his mother would not stop calling until she got what she wanted.

"Good," replied Lily.

They said goodbye to each other and Luke went to his meeting. On the way back, he called his mother, as he promised.

-P-

The End.


	10. Epilogue

The rest of the year went by quickly. Luke and Noah were happy in Los Angeles. They continued working on their relationship. It had it's highs and lows but Luke, over time, became confident that Noah would not leave him. Luke could not figure out why everything seemed _less complicated_ in Los Angeles, when compared to Oakdale. Maddie found an apartment over the summer, a few miles away, leaving the house to Luke, Noah, and Hershey. With Maddie, Dusty and Janet living close by, the area was becoming a mini-Oakdale.

-P-

Luke and Noah had arrived for Christmas at the farm, just as Emma pulled some cookies out of the oven. As soon as the greetings were exchanged, Noah popped a cookie into his mouth before Emma could stop him. Sugar, Coco and Pepper started to softly growl at him. Hershey did not know what to do, but as soon as Sugar barked at her, she joined with the other three dogs and added her voice to the mix.

Noah looked down at the dogs, wondering why they were so mad at him but the cookie overtook his concern for the dogs. As soon as he bit into it, he knew something was wrong. "Um . . . these are great Emma but, um, they are kind of dry." They actually tasted bad but he did not want to hurt Emma's feelings.

"That's because my dear boy . . . ," Emma face was stern until she finished, ". . . they are biscuits for the dogs."

Noah's face turned red. "Oh!" He felt like such a fool but felt a huge sense of relief since the _cookie_ was bad. "They don't look like dog biscuits."

Luke doubled over in laughter over his boyfriend's embarrassment.

"I thought I would try the recipe before I bought the bone shape cutter," Emma laughed. "Obviously, that was a mistake."

Hershey scrambled around her dads and ran up to Emma. She sat down at Emma's feet and looked up at her with sad puppy dog eyes that translated into _they never feed me_. Emma picked up a biscuit and gave it to Hershey. Hershey ate it quickly and sniffed the floor for any crumbs that had dropped. When she was done, she started licking Emma's hand in appreciation. The three puppies lined up behind Hershey, for their sample.

"I'd say they are a success, Grandma," Luke laughed.

Emma picked up a cookie jar and handed it to Noah, who happily accepted them. "These are for you."

"Thanks Emma," Noah gushed. He opened the lid, grabbed a cookie, and bit into one. "Mmmm. Now this is a cookie."

-P-

On Christmas morning, after the presents were opened, they all sat down at the table. Luke had been fidgety and nervous all morning. After he dropped his glass, Noah finally decided to find out what was bothering Luke.

"Luke, what is wrong with you this morning?" Noah pointedly asked.

"Nothing," Luke answered innocently.

"Riiight!" Noah did not believe a word. "Come on, Luke. We promised not to keep anything from each other."

Luke wanted to do this in private but he knew Noah would be persistent. He got up from his seat, pulled Noah out of his, and moved him over to the stairs for a little privacy. "Remember the last time we were here?"

Noah looked up and smiled at the mistletoe above them. "You said you wanted a cup of coffee."

Luke laughed. "Okay, the time before."

Noah thought back. "I was being a dbag and pushed you away."

"That's true but I understand why now," Luke said quickly. "Time before that."

"I gave you a watch while we sat on a bench in Old Town and then we kissed under the mistletoe."

"Yeah, that time, I was the dbag," Luke laughed. Noah laughed with him. "Okay, the time before that."

"You said you loved me and I replied _same here_," Noah grimaced at how lame he used to be.

"It was so romantic," Luke looked lovingly at Noah. "Remember the last time we were in Oakdale?"

"Yes, you had a panic attack," Noah mind went back in time.

"Remember what you asked me?"

"Of course I do," Noah froze after the words came out. His eyes widened as he realized why Luke had been so nervous all morning.

Hershey realized something was about to happen. She got up, sauntered over to where Luke and Noah were, and sat down next to Luke. Everyone else was still at the table eating.

Luke saw Noah's understanding of the situation. "I'm ready now."

Noah could not believe what he was hearing from Luke. "Now?"

"You never asked me again," Luke tried not to sound judgmental.

"I . . . I . . . ," Noah stumbled to find the words. He was completely taken aback.

"I was hoping you would ask me again."

"I wanted to but I was waiting for a hint that you were ready," Noah's mind was still foggy.

"A hint. I threw so many, I could be a pitcher for the Cubs," Luke complained. "I'm not waiting any longer!" Hershey barked to get the family's attention. Everyone turned in time to see Luke get down on one knee. "We've loved each other for a very long time, Noah. We had our ups and downs but I think we are ready to take the next step, together," Luke said confidently. Noah nodded in agreement. "Will you marry me, Noah Mayer?"

"Yes, Luciano Snyder, I'll marry you," Noah's eyes welled up with tears.

Luke stood up and kissed Noah deeply. Luke pulled a box out of his pocket. The box held four rings, two simple gold engagement bands with diamonds every half-inch or so around it and two wedding bands.

After Noah looked in the box, he did something Luke had not expected. He started crying.

"What's wrong, Noah?"

"I'm not dreaming, am I?" Noah looked with wonder at Luke. "I mean, this is real, isn't it?"

Luke pinched Noah on the arm, causing him to yell out. "It's real."

"I dreamt of this so many times," Noah replied as he rubbed his arm.

"You did?" Luke asked with a big grin on his face.

"You didn't?" Noah knew better.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly say that," Luke tried to act innocent, which made Noah laugh.

Noah took one of the engagement rings out of the box and grabbed Luke's hand. He put the ring on Luke's finger and Luke did the same thing for Noah.

Once the rings were exchanged and the happy couple sealed their engagement with a kiss, the family surrounded them, giving cheer to the newly engaged couple.

-P-

"WOAK-TV in Oakdale, Illinois has reported that Noah Mayer and Luke Snyder are engaged to be married," the reporter announced. "The newly engaged couple did an interview with the station manager, Katie Hughes. The wedding date has not been set yet."

-P-

Lily, Emma, and Lucinda flew to Los Angeles to help with the wedding plans. Jim thought it would be the Hollywood wedding of the year and suggested they use an experienced wedding planner. After a lengthy debate with everyone, they decided to have the wedding in Los Angeles.

-P-

"Honey, why is Hershey sitting over at the fence?" Lily asked.

"She's in love with the male dog on the other side," Luke smiled. He was counting wedding guests that they had discussed earlier.

"Awww, how sweet," Lily replied.

"He dug under the fence a month ago and since then, Hershey hasn't been the same," Noah smiled. "His name is Butch."

"What a manly name," Lucinda laughed.

"He's a cute dog," Noah replied. "He's just dumb."

"Noah!" Luke scolded. "He's not dumb, he's just in _love_."

"He peed on all our plants and doesn't follow commands," Noah replied off-hand. "I'd hate to be the gardener over there." He pointed to this neighbor's yard. Everyone laughed at Noah's complaints.

Luke finished counting. "Okay, people, we have 600 wedding guests."

Noah's eyes widened. "No way, are you sure?"

"Uh, business owner here," Luke's voice dripped with sarcasm. "I can count." What he did not tell anyone was that he was using a wedding app on his iPad and it counted the list for him.

"Smart ass!" Noah taunted back. "Nothing happens in Hollywood that isn't large."

Luke smiled back at Noah. "We need to cut this list down at least by 200 people." Everyone groaned. "Stop groaning and let's cut this down."

After spending the afternoon arguing over whom to cut, they finally whittled the wedding guest down to 440 guests.

-P-

Over the next week, Luke and Noah spent time working with the wedding planner on their wedding. The first thing they did was see what dates were available for the gay friendly church in West Hollywood and the upscale hotel, which was down the street from the church, they wanted to use. They coordinated it with their schedules and picked a date. There were many surrounding hotels for housing guests and many entertainment venues, including the Kodak Theatre, so the ceremony, reception, and the place the guests would staying were within a few blocks from each other.

Noah's favorite part of planning the wedding was the cake selection. After tasting what seemed like a countless number of cakes, everyone but Noah felt like throwing up. They chose just a simple four-tiered vanilla buttercream frosted cake with ruby red roses between each layer. It was very simple yet elegant. Choosing the caterer was Noah's second favorite part of the planning. After eating samples of six different meals, they selected three for their guests to choose from. They also had the option to order from the hotel restaurant, for anyone who would like to order something different. Once the date was set and the food choices selected, the wedding invitations were ordered.

The centerpieces would be just a simple round vase with a bouquet of roses. Each table would have a different color bouquet. The wedding table would have ruby red roses, which matched the cake. They also ordered flowers for the church.

Luke and Noah already picked out matching black tuxedos with grey vests and a matching grey ascot tie. The multi-button coat shortened up the lapel length, giving them a modern look to them. They would also have a ruby red rose boutonnières.

Cyndi was invited over to the house to have dinner with everyone. She agreed to sing _True Colors _at the wedding but she wanted to have the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles to do a simple version of the song. The one hundred strong choir would stand in the aisles and begin the song. She would then add her voice to theirs. Luke and Noah were excited by the prospect. They could see the impact that would have. They also selected a few other songs they wanted for the wedding and the reception.

-P-

Noah had gotten quiet during the last minute details that needed to be figured out. He picked up his iPad and started to quickly type on it. Luke noticed that Noah was distracted but did not say anything until Noah got up from the table and sat in a deck lounge chair.

"Noah, uh, we still have things to figure out?" Luke asked politely. Noah did not seem to hear him. A few minutes later, he tried again. "Noah?" Luke said louder.

Noah looked up from his work. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"We are not done here. Where did you go?" Luke again asked politely.

By now, everyone had stopped talking and concentrated on Luke and Noah.

"I'm writing my vows," Noah replied.

Luke looked surprised. "You are? Already?" He got up, walked over to Noah, and sat down on the leg portion of the deck lounge chair. He moved his head around so he could look at Noah's iPad.

Noah locked his iPad, so Luke could not look. "Hey, stop trying to sneak a peek," Noah teased.

"I'm not," Luke feigned innocence.

"You can't fool me," Noah knew better.

"Our wedding is a year away," Luke changed the subject, a little, to get himself out of trouble.

"I know. I wish it was tomorrow," Noah sighed.

"Me too."

Noah got an evil grin on his face. "Let's run off to Vegas after they leave."

Luke laughed.

"You better not!" Emma warned. Lily and Lucinda added to Emma's warning.

"Would we do something like that?" Noah tried to act innocent.

"All you need to remember is that if you do, I will not make you anymore cookies!" Emma threatened.

Noah's face filled with fear for a second and then he grinned. "Let's see. Elope with Luke or no cookies."

Luke looked at Noah with a strong face. "You better make the right choice, bubby!"

"Hmm!" Noah put his hand up to his chin. "What should I choose? What should I choose?" Noah was deep in thought.

"You bastard," Luke looked angrily at Noah but began to laugh. "You picked the cookies, didn't you?"

"Yes, but not for the reason you think," Noah stated. He moved his hand to the side of Luke's face. "I want to stand up in front of _everyone_ and tell them that I choose _you_. I want tell them that I want to spend the rest of my life with _you_, as your husband. And I want to become an _official_ member of the Snyder clan." Noah could hear someone crying at the table behind him.

Luke leaned into Noah with a few tears of his own. "I want that too, Noah. But like grandmother says, you can't bullshit a bull shitter." He spoke with mock anger in his voice. "You want the cookies . . . just admit it!"

"Yeah, that too!" Noah cracked up laughing in his chair. He stood up and wrapped his arms around Luke.

Luke could not help but laugh. His grandma's cookies were powerful things.

Noah looked into Luke's eyes. "Don't worry, _Luciano_, our wedding will be _worth the wait_!" He kissed Luke. "Just like you were."

Luke thought back to the watch Noah gave him so many years ago. He knew their wedding was going to be a very special day that would leave a lasting memory for all. "Now, let's get back to the planning. I want to make sure everyone forgets all about the Kardashian weddings."

"Who?" Noah laughed as he and Luke walked back to the table to make their wedding, a wedding that everyone would remember for years to come.


End file.
